One Stormy Night
by Shoujo's Revenge
Summary: Struggling with being in a public school, having an overprotective grandpa and having a fire demon crashing through her window doesn't help her one bit. Hiei x OC, Kurama x OC
1. A Mysterious Intruder

One Stormy Night....  
  
A/N: I got inspired to write this when I took a Kurama quiz and one of the questions was kind of funny. The quiz is on Quizilla.com and the creator of the quiz is ElvenWindmaster12. But I forgot exactly what the quiz was called. I think it was called: Date with Kurama.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, Quizilla.com or the quiz made by ElvenWindmaster12 which was the inspiration for this fic.  
  
Summary: Struggling with being in a public school, having an overprotective grandpa and having a fire demon crashing through her window doesn't help her a bit. Hiei x OC  
  
Mizuki Aoi groaned as she set down her school bag on her bed and changed out of her school uniform. Today was the worst day ever because some girls tackled her when they thought she was trying to take Shuiichi Minamino away from them. She had to admit he was cute but she wasn't interested in him like that and never will. He was just too....perfect. She was perfect too but only in her grandpa's eyes. Nobody else thought that.  
  
"Stupid bitches." she muttered, touching her eye where it had been punched. "Ow" She sighed and went into the bathroom where the first aid kit was.  
  
Luckily, she had gotten away before the rabid fangirls could do anymore damage to her. She applied some medicine on her eye and some powder so her grandpa wouldn't be able to tell. She knew how he tends to overreact and didn't want to worry him.  
  
Walking back into her bedroom, she yawned, got into bed and fell asleep. When she woke up, she saw outside the window that it was raining really hard.  
  
Hiei Jaganshi jumped from tree to tree and upon feeling some raindrops on his head, decided to find shelter on some tree branch. He settled down on a tree branch with enough leaves to cover him from the pouring rain. He then put his arms behind his head and fell asleep.  
  
Mizuki got out of bed and listened to the silence.  
  
'Nobody's home yet.' she thought. 'Typical'  
  
She glanced at the digital clock and saw that it was 8:00. She took out a towel and walked into the bathroom to take a long bath.  
  
She turned on the hot water with a little bit of cold, waited until it was a few inches from the rim then turned off the water off. She dumped some bubble bath foam into the water. She took off her clothes and sighed contendly as she settled herself into the soothing hot water. It was so relaxing and quiet just the way she liked it. That didn't last long though when thunder crashed and now the bathroom was pitchblack.  
  
"Damn!" she cursed, getting out of the tub and groping around for her towel.  
  
Her hand felt the soft material of her towel, she grabbed it and wrapped it around her soapy body. Then she heard it. The sound of a window breaking and it was right outside her bathroom which means that whoever it is was in her room. Her heart pounded against her chest and her breath halted.  
  
She grabbed the nearest thing which was a plunger and held it threateningly in front of her. Her towel started to slip but she clutched the front of it with one hand before it could slip any further. She slowly opened the bathroom door and tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness.  
  
"He-hello?" she said, fear evident in her voice. But nobody answered and the only sound was the thunder crashing. She could see the broken window from the light emitted from the thunder. The window had a huge hole and the rain was blowing from the outside. The only thing left of the window was a few shards still on the frame. She walked towards the window but tripped on something.  
  
Something solid and it was breathing!!! She landed on the opposite side of whatever it was and glass was cutting into her bare skin. She squeaked in pain and covered her mouth to keep from screaming. The winds blew furiously from the outside. For someone in just a towel and glass cutting into her, this wasn't such a great day for her. The thunder crashed again and the lights were back on.  
  
Mizuki glanced at the intruder and saw that it was a man drenched in rain, his wet clothes stuck close to his body and that he was sleeping? She put a hand on his arm and realized that he was burning up. She hurriedly carried him to her bed, despite the glass cutting into her barefoot. She had trouble carrying him because he was heavy.  
  
'For such a short guy, he's sure heavy.'  
  
'Okay, now I just need to change him out of those clothes.' The mere thought of it made her blush but in order to help him, she had to.  
  
A/N: Want me to continue and sorry if this was a short chapter. Sorry if it was too boring. 


	2. Harmless Flirting and Unexpected Kisses

A/N: Valentine's Day is coming so I thought I'd update some of my romance fics. Enjoy!  
  
Thanks to the reviewers:  
  
Blue Rose4  
  
Squeakers  
  
Shadow's Assassin  
  
ayame-angel  
  
Shadow Fox2  
  
~()~()~()~()~()~()~()~  
  
Chapter 2: Harmless Flirting and Unexpected Kisses  
  
As soon as Mizuki extended her hand towards him, she hastily withdrew it. What exactly was she doing? That was the one question currently running through her mind. Everything happened so fast: the blackout....the breaking of the windows and most important of all; a short man on her bed, snoring lightly. While trying to decide what to do, she kneeled down on her knees and stared at the floor absentmindedly. It was then she remembered that the floor still had glass on it.  
  
Then she looked at her bare legs covered with bloody cuts from the broken glass so she got up and went to the bathroom again. She winced as she limped to the medicine cabinet behind the mirror, got out the first aid kit...again and fixed all her cuts. After she cleaned up and wrapped up her cuts, put on a comfortable shirt and pants, she started her homework. But the frustrated brunette girl couldn't stop thinking about the man....at all.  
  
"Hmm...9x+10=27x-5....How do I do that again?" Mizu said absently said to herself, searching for answers in her stressed out mind.  
  
The light snoring coming from the mysterious man in black made her try to concentrate on her homework more. 'But....' she started to think to herself when....  
  
The phone rang.  
  
Alarmed and grateful at the same time, Mizu picked up the receiver:  
  
"This is the Aoi household. Who are you calling for?"  
  
"Konnichi-wa, Aoi-san, this is Shuuichi Minamino," said a voice on the other end.  
  
"Nani? Minamino-san, how'd you get this number?"  
  
"First of all, just call me Shuuichi. Second of all, I have my ways," he said wily.  
  
"All right..Shuuichi-san." An exasperated sigh came from the other side.  
  
"You may lose the 'san'. No need to be so formal," he said, a slight sadness in his voice.  
  
"Um...sorry? From now on, I'll just call you Shuuchi-kun then."  
  
"That's better," he said, perking up a bit.  
  
"So...Shuuichi-kun, was there anything that you wanted to specifically talk about because I'm kind of ..." she casts a look over at the still slumbering man "busy."  
  
"I have called to apologize for my 'fangirls' actions. I had no idea that they would be so malicious towards you," he said with a hint of worry in his tone.  
  
"That's ...okay. I guess I mean I probably know what they thinking when they saw me with you. I would've have felt the same way if I was in their position," she said. (lying through her teeth)  
  
"What would that feeling be?" he said quietly.  
  
"Jealousy, what else?" she said, as though it was obviously.  
  
"What would they feel jealous?"  
  
"Because you're cute," she said. As soon as she uttered those words, she slapped herself on the forehead for being so stupid enough to reveal it.  
  
He didn't rub it in her face though like she would expect him to instead he started to chuckle softly.  
  
"Really? You share that opinion too?" he said cockily.  
  
Mizu fumed and blushed at the same time. Exactly when did this conversation turn from apologizing to flirting?  
  
"Oi! Kurama! Get off of the phone already! Talk to your girlfriend later! We have another mission from the BA-! MMM-HMM!" a voice yelled from Shuuichi's end.  
  
"Quiet, Yusuke! I'm quite busy here and my name is SHUUICHI!" the usually calm redhead seemingly screamed.  
  
Mizu held the phone away from her ear and blinked, looking confused at it. The polite and suave Shuuichi Minamino is yelling? And why did this Yusuke just called him 'Kurama'?  
  
"Just ask her out already and come on or the stupid baby's going to blow a gasket!"  
  
"Wha?" she said, confused.  
  
"Yusuke, leave my room before I remove you myself," Shuuichi said in a restrained voice.  
  
"Have any of you guys seen Hiei lately? I can't seem to find him," a female voice said, also on his end.  
  
"You mean that little shrimp is missing? Wha-hoo!" a deep male voice cheered.  
  
"Shuuichi-kun, since you're so busy, why don't you call me back? A heh heh...BYE!" she said, quickly slamming the phone down.  
  
With another look at the stranger, she dialed another number and waited impatiently for someone to answer.  
  
"Hello?" a male voice said on the other end.  
  
"Onni-chan, can you please come home and fast."  
  
"What is it, imouto-chan? Are you in any trouble?"  
  
"Um...sort of..."  
  
~()~()~()~()~()~()~()~  
  
"Now explain to me again why you have a man clad in wet clothing in your bed again?" Hiro said, glaring down at his nervously giggling little sister.  
  
"I already told you! He crashed into the window while I was taking a bath!" she yelled back at him.  
  
"No wonder you're blushing. What exactly did you two do during bathtime, hmm?" he said, giving her a "you pervert" look.  
  
"Ecchi! You're the pervert for thinking that way in the first place!?" Mizu fumed.  
  
"Damn it, Mizu! How many do I have to tell you to quit hitting me?!"  
  
"Hmph! Just change his clothes or he'll catch pneumonia!"  
  
"Why are you even worrying about that when you don't know him?" he asked. But she already exited the room.  
  
She walked down the stairs, her hand tracing the wall alongside the staircase. She had heard the question that Hiro asked her but she went out of the room because she herself didn't know the answer to that simple question. He could be a bum or a psycho killer for all she knew yet she wanted to take care of him. Her thoughts were interrupted with an idea when she spotted a can on the kitchen table.  
  
"Maybe soup will make him feel better," she muttered, picking up the unopened can of soup.  
  
~()~()~()~()~()~()~()~  
  
Mizu walked slowly up to her room, carefully carrying a tray with a bowl of chicken soup balanced on it. When she entered her room, she saw that her brother had fallen asleep on the floor. He was still wearing his thin jacket. Mizu reminded herself to get him a blanket as soon as she set down the soup somewhere. She set it down on the table next to her bed, looked at the man, whom was wearing her old clothes. She snickered. She guessed that her brother's clothes was too big for the stranger so he changed him into her old clothes.  
  
"Oh, well. You look better in a plaid skirt and white blouse than me anyway," she said, humor evident in her tone.  
  
Of course, the stranger didn't say anything back and snored on.  
  
'How am I supposed to feed him when he's sleeping?'  
  
Mizu pondered until her eyes stopped on a picture of her late parents....kissing at their wedding. She gulped and blushed deeply but it was for the good of the stranger's health. She knew it was a stupid thing to do but....She stole a glance at her brother, trying to make sure that he was really sleeping. The proof was the drool running from his open mouth. She gathered up all the courage she could muster and sipped some of the soup, trying not to swallow it.  
  
Instead, she leaned into the stranger's face and opened his mouth with her thumb and index finger. Once his breath was on her face, she knew that she was close enough. So she leaned towards his mouth and parted her own lips, letting the warm chicken broth into his mouth. Even though, it dripped out of the corners of his mouth, he swallowed the remainder of it.  
  
'Mission completed' she thought, smiling.  
  
She was about to turn around and get some more soup, when his arms tightened around her waist and pulled her closer.  
  
"Ayane..." he mumbled affectionately. His eyes still closed.  
  
He was pulling her so close that there wasn't any space between them. Mizu tried to pull herself away. He kissed her lips a few times then started to slip his tongue in.....  
  
'He was pretending the whole time?!'  
  
~()~()~()~()~()~()~()~  
  
"Where the hell is Hiei?!" Koenma whined, banging his tiny fists on the table.  
  
"Mizu-chan...." Kurama said, slowly.  
  
Botan could see Kurama's lips curving into a tiny smile as he started to daydream about something. Botan couldn't believe it, Kurama was usually so attentive whenever they have a mission. But this time he seems out of it. 


	3. Injured Shuuichi and Awakening

A/N: The only reason I'm writing this chapter is because one reviewer wanted to read it so much that she said the word 'please' three times. Of course, I can't be mean and ignore that. Before I received that review, I was considering on taking it offline. This chapter is only a filler so it might not be so good.

Chapter 3: Injured Shuuichi and Awakenings

Mizuki could hardly believed what happened yesterday, touching her lips with her fingers as she attempted to pay attention to what her teacher was lecturing on about. 'My first kiss....stolen by a complete stranger!' she thought, trying to hide her blushing cheeks behind her hands. Not only was that embarrassing, but her overly protective big brother woke up and spotted them kissing. Her grandpa was bad enough in not wanting his only granddaughter to go to a public school, but he also teams up with Hiro trying to protect Mizuki for the rest of their lives. That man also didn't wake up!

"Aoi? Would you like to come up and do this math problem on the blackboard?" the teacher asked, pointing to the tough math problem of the day.

"Hai, sensei." she answered, snapping out of her reverie.

As she walked up to the board, she, for some unknown reason, glanced at Shuuichi's direction. To her surprise, he wasn't there. Because of Shuuichi's fangirls, Mizuki already found out that he was an honor student and was always present in school. He was also polite, and everything else that a girl would want in a boyfriend. Needless to say, he could've had any girl he chooses but he seemed to be more friendly to her. Although, when he called her yesterday, it seemed as though....

Mizuki snapped out of her reverie when the classroom door opened to reveal Minamino Shuuichi an hour late to class, and it was the third class already! Every one of his fangirls looked worriedly as he trudged into the classroom, looking out of breathe and avoiding the prying teacher's questions.

"Good morning, Aoi-chan", he said, smiling at her.

'He looks terrible.' she thought as she quietly greeted him back.

"Uh...Shuuichi-kun, are you okay?" she asked, looking at his noticable limp.

"Of course, Aoi-chan. I'm fine." he said, trying to walk properly.

"B-but you're limping," she said, trying to decide on what to do.

"It's fine" and that was the last thing he said before collapsing onto her. A few shocked screams could be heard from several of his fangirls' mouths. Shocked because their favorite pretty boy was injured and because he was on top of the new girl, not them! Meanwhile, Mizuki struggles to get the fainted Shuuichi off of her. Not that she really minds him resting on her as long as he was evidently injured, but his head was resting between her breasts!

Later that day...

'I only started public school for two days and already I've been molested!' Mizuki thought, as she walked home from school. 'If grandpa finds out, I'll never be able to go outside again! How did mom stand it when she was my age?'

That reminded her, it was almost the anniversary of when both of her parents was officially declared dead. It wasn't exactly something that Mizuki and Hiro would like to celebrate. As the view of her house came closer, Mizuki's thoughts returns to the thought of what yesterday's thunder storm brought her. 'What am I supposed to say to him when he does wake up?'

Mizuki also made a note to not tell him what happened between him and her.

_She was about to turn around and get some more soup, when his arms tightened around her waist and pulled her closer._

_"Ayane..." he mumbled affectionately. His eyes still closed. _

_He was pulling her so close that there wasn't any space between them. Mizu tried to pull herself away. He kissed her lips a few times then started to slip his tongue in....._

_'He was pretending the whole time?!'_

'It was probably some kind of accident or something. Although, I wonder who's Ayane?' she thought, locking the front door and taking off her shoes. 'Then what happened to Shuuichi-kun today. He probably got into a fight with somebody and escaped just in time for the third class.'

After Kurama fainted on her, some of the male classmates lifted him off of the blushing girl and carried him to the nurse's office. Now he was in the hospital while his mom was watching him sleep. Botan, Yusuke, Kuwabara and Yukina was also there to see if the redhead was okay or not.

"Where the hell is Hiei?!" Yusuke fumed.

"I haven't seen him all day yesterday or today. I wonder if the enemy got to him too?" Botan said, secretly worrying about Kurama.

Meanwhile...

"Where am I?" Hiei mumbled, shoving the blanket away from his body. "And why am I wearing a ningen girl's ensemble?!" he questioned loudly, upon looking at his body.

Downstairs in the kitchen, while Mizuki was making ramen, she heard someone's yelling voice coming from up the stairs.

"Ah, he's awake!" she exclaimed.

A/N: This chapter is not one of the best but next chapter, hopefully, will be. I'll update next Friday if I'm not lazy.


	4. A Fangirl's Warning

A/N: So sorry for not updating last Friday and the Friday after that. It's just that school is really pounding down on me and I have two math classes each day and it's my worst subject ever. English class will always be my favorite class but I don't like my current English class. The teacher might be nice at times but I still don't like her much. Still haven't gotten my locker yet so I'm also mad about that, too. My backpack is really killing me. What the hell is wrong with that school? Bet you don't feel like reading about my sucky life right now, so enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 4: A Fangirl's Warning

"Ah! He's awake!" Mizuki exclaimed.

Mizuki was about to walk up the stairs when the phone rang on the wall closest to her, started to ring. She sighed in impatience and picked it up, wondering why someone always calls at these kinds of moments.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hello, can I speak to Aoi Mizuki?" a feminine voice on the other side said.

"I'm her but can you please call later? I'm sort of busy right now."

"This won't be long, Aoi. This is Hasakawa Fumi, president of the Minamino Shuuichi fan club. I'm calling to warn you to stay away from him! Don't even think of sneaking around either, we're everywhere. If you ever cross our warning, you won't have your pretty brown hair anymore, got it?!" she warned.

"Oops! We seem to be getting cut off!" Mizuki said, crumbling a piece of paper near the mouthpiece.

"You'd better!" Fumi started to say, but Mizuki cut her off.

"What is wrong with them?" Mizuki said, putting the phone into its cradle. "Like I said already, I don't like him that way. I guess I should've let him fall on one of them." 'It's not like it's any of my fault he fell on me anyway. I guess they wouldn't have minded if he fell headfirst into their chest. Then again, he would also suffer because they might've hugged him so much, they would've suffocated them. hehe' Mizuki silently giggled, thinking about a red-faced Shuuichi. What a cute image.

Her green eyes fell on the phone next to her, 'Maybe I should call to see if he's all right.'

Early this morning

After Hiro duct taped a huge white garbage bag to Mizu's broken window, he announced that he was going to going to a hardware store to get supplies to fix the window. On his way out of her bedroom door, he shot a glare at the sleeping figure, who took advantage of his sister. That lecher! He would have to deal with him when he wakes up and Mizu isn't there.

"Bye, onni-chan." Mizu said, waving to her brother.

"Bye, here's some pepper spray," he whispered, passing her the small spray.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Squirt it in his eyes if he tries something." he said, looking suspiciously at Hiei. "I have a feeling he's not really sleeping after all."

Mizuki with a sweatdrop on the back of her head, shooed her brother away with the promise of spraying at the stranger, if he did try something. But as soon as he walked out of the door, she threw it on the floor near her bed. When she turned around and went to the bathroom to get ready for school, it continued to roll under her bed.

Kurama (Present)

"I think I defiled Aoi-san in some way." Kurama said loudly for his fellow Reikai Tantei to hear. He had a look of horror on his face along with a noticable blush.

"Aoi-san? Isn't that the girl you were flirting with on the phone yesterday?" Yusuke asked, a hint of lewdness in his tone. "You did the nasty with her?" he taunted.

Kurama looked at him with a look of disgust, but at the same time, he wondered if he did....It was all so blurry. He just remembered seeing Mizuki and hearing a shocked shriek. Then again, weren't there also other people there?

"What's the nasty?" Yukina innocently asked.

Everybody's faces faltered. They also blushed while Yukina wondered what she said to make them that way.

"Who wants to explain?" Botan asked.

"Yusuke should do it since he's such an expert in the lecherous department." Keiko said, pushing him towards Yukina.

"He also mentioned it so he should do it." Yukina said. "So what is it?" she smiled, wanting to know.

"hehehe Well, you see, Yukina..." Yusuke said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Don't tell innocent Yukina-chan anything! You pervert!" Kuwabara screamed.

Yukina just blinked, confused. Botan, Keiko, Shizuru and Kurama just sweatdropped.

"I really wonder how they are the ones, who saved this world numerous times." Shizuru said.

"Exactly what I was thinking." Keiko said.

Aoi Residence

"What the hell am I doing in this room? This doesn't look like Kurama's room." Hiei said, looking around the girly room.

Mizu peeked at the man in the crack of her bedroom door, holding a bowl of ramen in her hands. For some reason, she seemed to be scared of this man. She doesn't really know how he's like. Maybe he could be a psycho killer or something! Even if he was, surely he wouldn't kill anyone, who saved him from catching pneumonia, right? hehe He's not so scary when he's wearing a skirt and her blouse. Unbeknowst to him, she started to giggle at him.

Ridiculous as he looked, he was still a powerful fire demon, who used to be an assassin. Of course, human girl, Mizuki would never know that until much later. An innocent human girl, who never really experienced anything bad except for the tragic death of her parents. An angsty fire demon, Hiei, who is always in a bad mood with a bad past. Would these two make a good match?

A/N: Yeah, this chapter was such a gyp. But I'm also typing chapter 5 right now so that means I can update sometime this week. So you girls and guys can finally read how they meet, lucky you. Of course, I have to say thank yous to all old and new reviewers.


	5. Small Moments

One Stormy Night....

A/N: I am grateful for reviews but why does almost everyone gives me the same one over and over again? You can also include what you liked about the story, which part was your favorite, etc or if I need improvement on some areas. I have no problem with those kind of reviews, I won't flame you back or anything. Anyway, thank you reviewers for at least reviewing.

_(Italic: thoughts)_

(­Underlined: Scene Change)

Chapter 5: Little Moments

Mizuki stood behind the door, peering at the confused stranger. The tray she was holding held a bowl of ramen and a pair of chopsticks on it. Mizuki had intended to eat that ramen herself, but she also figured that the stranger would also be hungry. After all, he didn't eat anything last night except some soup. She, herself, didn't notice it but she was reaching for the doorknob.

Hiei glared at the door, noticing that the doorknob was jiggling open. The door slowly creaked open, he spotted a girl clad in a girls' school uniform, the same kind that the girls at Kurama's high school wore. She had short brown hair that was like five inches under her ears. She walked slowly towards the bed he was in, trying to be careful so she wouldn't spill the boiling hot noodles. Hiei tried to open his mouth so he could ask her all the questions that were quickly forming in his mind. However, he felt weaker than usual.

He felt like so weak that he wished he could pass out already. He was burning up everywhere on his body. He was also hungry. He hadn't eaten anything yesterday. That's all he remembered. He also remembered that he was caught in a thunderstorm, while on his way to Reikai. He remembered that Koenma had summoned him to be there with his colleagues so he could tell them their next mission.

_What happened next? I don't remember going to Reikai at all. I just remember jumping from tree to tree, then it started to rain. _Hiei thought, not aware that the strange girl in front of him asked him a question.

"Aren't you hungry?" Mizu asked the man.

She set the tray on a desk and walked over to him, trying to see if there was something wrong with him. Maybe he doesn't like to eat ramen?

"So you don't like ramen? Want a bowl of rice instead?" Mizu asked.

Hiei was still trying to remember what happened yesterday, perhaps this human girl found him? If she did, where exactly did she found him? Also, was she the one who changed him into human girl attire?

Suddenly, Hiei stood up on the bed, only to receive a terribly painful headache. He groaned in pain, alarming Mizu, who pushed him back down into the bed. Luckily, the fire demon was too weak to fight back.

"Guess I'm going to have to feed you myself ....again." she said, much to Hiei's surprise.

_What does she mean by 'again'?_

Reikai

"Kurama, how's your injuries? Will you still be capable to go on this mission?" Koenma asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just a few wounds." Kurama reassured him.

Yesterday, Koenma assigned Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama to go to Ningenkai to fight a couple of demons, whom were terrorizing humans. They were notorious to be huge jokers but they went too far when they started to kill many kindergarteners. A thousand kindergarteners were either injured seriously or lost their lives. Of course, the human parents were distraught. Not only were they saddened by the lost of their beloved children, they were also the perfect target for other demons, most of them who wanted to talk over their minds and make them do whatever they want.

When the three got to Ningenkai, they avenged all the children who lost their lives. Unfortunately, their job wasn't done at all. They also had to deal with the mind-controlling demons taking advantage of the depressed parents. The three sympathetic Spirit Detectives didn't want to hurt the parents so they wouldn't raise their weapons against the defenseless humans. The mind-controlling demons disappeared before any of them can do any harm to them.

The parents, however, still wasn't free from the demons' control. The brainwashed crowd started to attack the three of them, the only thing they could do was dodge their attacks. Most of them were succeeding in dodging the attacks, except Kurama was surrounded by a huge group of moms and dads. He still wouldn't use his rose whip against the sorrowful parents. They weren't as merciful as him at the moment. They grabbed his legs before he could jump somewhere else then pulled him down and pummeled him with lots of sharp and heavy objects.

Which resulted him in having several bruises and a limping leg, his mother thought he had a fight with some punks.

"Kurama, I really think you should rest for at least a day. Your leg doesn't seem to be fully healed." Botan said.

"She's right, Kurama," said Koenma.

At the Minamino Residence

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. I don't even feel like reading a book," sighed Kurama, who was bored.

After the meeting in Koenma's office, everybody agreed that Kurama should go home and recover. He kept insisting that he was all right, but Yusuke knocked him out and Botan sailed him all the way to Ningenkai. Now he just woke up in his bed, bored with nothing to do. He sighed in defeat, "Guess they wanted the best for me, they're good friends. But why did Yusuke have to knock me out that hard? They could've just told me calmly to go home."

"Shuuichi, are you all right? Why did you leave the house this morning? You aren't well now." Kurama's mom said, looking worriedly at him.

"Sorry for making you worry, mother." he said.

"That's all right. As long as you are okay." she said, smiling. "Oh, by the way, there's a visitor here for you. She says she wanted to see if you were all right."

Shiori, Kurama's mom, stepped aside to reveal Mizuki standing at the doorway. She was holding a bouquet of various colors. She was still wearing the school uniform for Meiou high school, Kurama figured that she didn't went home yet.

"Shuuichi-kun, I just wanted to see if you were all right." she said. "These flowers are also for you. I heard from other girls that you liked flowers."

"I'll leave you two alone for now." Shiori said, closing the door behind her.

Mizu turned her head from the door and looked shyly at Kurama. A blush appeared across her cheeks as she handed the flowers to him. Kurama pretended to reach for the bouquet and purposely fell forward so his fingers could 'accidently' touch her hand.

To be Continued.

A/N: Keep in mind that Mizuki doesn't have feelings for Kurama. She's blushing only because she's usually really shy when she's with other guys. She was homeschooled and was never really allowed to go outside and her big brother was her only friend.

Thank you to all reviewers for your support, especially HieiFan666 and Kagome0102, both of whom also reviews my other Hiei story. I always look forward in reading their reviews. There's going to be a love rectangle instead of a love triangle. Try to guess who will like who and who wouldn't like someone in that way.


	6. An Embrace

One Stormy Night...

**A/N: Okay, I'm going to strike a deal with all of my reviewers. If at least 5 reviewers of this particular story give me good reviews, then I'll update frequently for at least once a week. **

**'Good' reviews doesn't mean long reviews, it just means that you have to tell me which part you liked, hated, why you liked it or how I can improve this story, etc. It can't be like three words exactly like 'great story, plz continue' or anything like that. If you don't give me good reviews, then that's fine. I won't stop updating; I just won't update as much. **

Chapter 6: An Embrace

"So...how are you doing, Shuuichi-kun?" Mizuki asked shyly.

Before he could answer, however, the door swung open and his mom's smiling face poked into the room. Kurama's face, out of his will, started to blush. He didn't really know why. Perhaps, it was because the girl that he liked was in the same room as his mom. _I wonder if kaa-san can tell if I'm interested in Mizu-chan? _he thought, trying to smile at his mother without blushing.

"Shuuichi, I'm going out to the supermarket to buy some more food. You get some more rest, all right?" she said.

"Yes, mother," Kurama said.

Then Shiori turned her head in Mizu's direction,"Aoi-san, I'm sorry to leave you here alone without offering you some refreshments. Please stay as long as you'd like."

"That's all right, Minamino-san. I should get going anyway since Shuuichi-kun needs to get more rest," Mizuki said, bowing politely.

"Ah, wait! Mizuki-chan!" Kurama said before he could catch himself. His mother looked his way and saw the disappointment in his eyes when Mizu said that. Mizu also looked in his direction, a blush staining her cheeks. She looked down at the floor so Shiori and Kurama couldn't see her blushing. She couldn't understand it. If she didn't have any mutual feelings for him, then why does she blush whenever she's around him?

Mizu was silently wishing that she were back home, taking care of that man in her bedroom. The man in her bedroom! She just remembered that her overprotective grandpa was coming home from a visit to his friend in the Hokkaido hospital. If he were to find out that she was harboring a stranger in her room, he would flip out! Hiiro, her big brother, wasn't that bad when it came to trying to protect Mizu from the harsh realities of the world. Her grandpa was even worse.

When it came time for Mizu to go to high school, her grandpa refused to let his precious granddaughter go to the, as he puts it, "the orgy of life" of a public school. He wanted her to continue her education stuck in the house. Hiiro argued with his grandpa until he gave in but not without giving her some 'protection'. The protection was a life time supply of mace, to which Mizu sweatdropped to. Although, she had to admit that it was better than the option of hiring a security guard for her.

"Well, I really have to leave now before the supermarket closes! Bye, Aoi-san," Shiori said, closing the bedroom door.

"What is that you want, Shuuichi-kun?" Mizu asked, looking at her watch.

_Maybe if I leave now, I can make it. Then try to find a place to hide the strange man_, she thought.

She waited for his answer to why Kurama wanted her to wait, while looking at her watch. Her heart was thumping at the possibility of her grandpa finding out about the man. She was so preoccupied at the thought that she failed to sense that Kurama was close to her now. Before she could say anything, she could feel his arms encircling her waist.

"Mizu-chan..." he whispered in her ear.

"Ah...Shuuichi-kun?" she said, shocked. If it was even possible, her cheeks were redder than ever. He didn't say anything, just pulled her closer to him. It was disrespectful of him to hug a girl like she was his girlfriend. He got the hint that Mizu wasn't interested in him, in that way. Yet was it really a crime to try to make her like him?

"Let me go, Shuuichi-kun," Mizu said as politely as she could.

As much as she protested and struggled in his hold, he was determined to hold on. He didn't want the warmth to disappear. Kurama wanted to hold on until the end of the world came; at least that's how he felt at that moment. He didn't understand of all people, why couldn't Mizu be interested in him? What did it take for Mizuki to warm up to him?

"Shuuichi-kun! I have to go home quickly!" Mizu said, trying to get out of his grasp.

"Mizuki-chan, what does it take?" he asked silently.

The question surprised Mizu. She stopped struggling against him and stood still. She knew the meaning behind the question that he just asked. She could comprehend the exact words in the question. Somehow, she couldn't answer. It was an easy question yet it was hard to answer.

It didn't matter if he was cute and a Prince Charming type of guy. She simply didn't like him as a boyfriend. It was ironic that she didn't like the bishounen, but every girl in her whole school would kill to have him. Mizu forgot about her grandpa and the strange man. She was just thinking about that particular moment. Why should she say?

_Please tell me that Minamino-san is still here. Have her come in and interrupt! Anybody!_

"I think I started to have feelings for you on the first day of school," he started to say. She stayed still in his arms, listening. "When you first started to talk to me, I saw something special in you...Most girls in my school would try so hard to get my attention even to the point of stalking me, but you're different."

A/N: That chapter was just a filler but then again, who doesn't like a romance moment? What will happen next in chapter 7? Lots of interesting things that's all I can say. And yes, another short chapter. I'm sorry. I'll try to lengthen my chapters next time.

**Review Replies**

**Talon and Skittles: **Thank you for commenting on my story. It's so funny that you say that the romance is getting interesting. This is one of those fanfics that I write to improve on writing romance. I'm not a great romance writer. Humor and angst are the two genres that I'm better at. Also, Hiei really doesn't remember that he kissed Mizuki because he was knocked out by the fever that he has. He was deep asleep and he just thinks of her as an annoying human girl...so far.

**HieiFan666:** I was way too lazy to think of anything so I just made the fever affect Hiei so much that he didn't bother to resist. I thought I emphasized that he was too weak to resist...Guess I need to do a better job next time. Seems as though you like Mizu, she's not one of my favorite original characters but I guess she is nice enough to be likable. Thanks for reviewing. It's nice to have recurring readers.

**Hiei- Stalker:** Yay! A new reviewer! Nah, since Hiei is awake, she'll just feed him with a spoon. So put away your knife. They're way too dangerous for anybody to be waving around.

**Hiei-lonewolf: **Yeah, well Mizu is trusting whenever other people are hurt. It's a good or bad trait that she inherited by her mom, who was a nurse. Besides, Mizu can be a little naive. She can't help it anyway. As I explained before, she used to be homeschooled and she was never allowed to go outside until now. Btw, I'll try to type up longer chapters but updating once a week takes hard work especially when you're having writer's block.

**kitsuneofshadows:** Thank you for saying that this is a good fic. hehe I wouldn't want to read this fic and it's mine. XD

**Danie**: Damn, you really emphasized how much you like my story. Well, you're almost right. There's going to be a love rectangle. There's four people in the love rectangle. There's Hiei, Kurama and Mizuki and I guess the fourth person I really have to emphasize her importance in the story. Who's Mizu going to choose? Well all I can say is you'll be surprised.

**D.F. Feda**: Thank you for the compliment. 3

**Hiei's1girl**Thanks for reviewing and telling me which part you liked. She won't feed him by mouth again, in case you're also wondering.

**Nefertiri:** Another one of the new reviewers! Sorry for taking two months to update. Thanks for reviewing.


	7. Grandpa's Home

A/N: Whoa, my deal actually worked. I thought that reviewers would be offended and not review so that meant that I didn't have to update early. --;;; Oh, darn... Then again, I have better reviews now! Thank you to everybody who reviewed! I sincerely mean it. I have to tell you that the deal counts for future chapters. The **bold **parts are dreams/memories.

Chapter 7: Grandpa's Home

**"Mizuki," her grandpa said, kneeling down to her height. He looked into her eyes, holding onto her shoulders. His lip trembled as he tried to think of a way to tell her. Mizuki just looked curiously at him, _Why is Grandpa so sad? _**

**Tears fell down his wrinkled face; he couldn't stand to be the bearer of bad news. How could he tell his little granddaughter that her parents had just been in a car accident? The little girl reached out to wipe the old man's tears away. She looked sadly at him,"Please don't cry, grandpa."**

**He breathed in and out heavily. With his voice cracking between every word, he said,"Mizuki-chan, I'm so sorry to tell you. Your...mommy and daddy. They won't be coming home anymore." **

**"Are they going on a trip?" she asked innocently.**

**"Hai. They are going on a very long trip. They won't be able to come home, but they wanted me to tell you that they loved you and your brother very much. No, I should say that they will always love you and your brother very much," he said, trying to smile. **

**"Why are they leaving us?" Mizu asked, tears streaking down her cheeks. **

"Wake up..." Hiiro crooned, poking Mizuki's shoulder.

Mizuki just waved away what she thought was a fly and rolled over on the sofa. She buried her head deeper into the pillow, snoring lightly as she continued to slumber. She didn't want to be bothered. She had just come back from Kurama's house and didn't want to deal with the drama, so she went straight to sleep.

Hiiro crossed his arms and muttered how lazy she was being. After all, she was supposed to cook dinner tonight. He looked at the kitty clock on the nearby wall. It was six o'clock right now. So that means that his grandpa would be coming home in one hour. Then he looked over to his little sister's direction. He saw that drops of salty water escaped from her eyes, then heard her mumble sleepily, "Mom...dad..."

"Mizuki... I guess you still haven't gotten over it..." he whispered. He smiled gently at his sister's sleeping form. He remembered when she used to ask why her parents went away on a 'trip'. She was so naive back then. She always thought that if she were good, they would come back. She was always trying to think of ways to get them back. Back then, she didn't understand the concept of death.

He remembered when he felt like tricking Mizuki. It was on her sixth birthday. Hiiro thought that it would be funny to ask her what she wished for her birthday. At that time, he was still young and naive. He really believed that if you tell someone else your birthday wish, then your wish wouldn't come true. Mizuki never heard of that saying so she told him her wish.

**"I'm going to wish for mommy and daddy to come back, onni-chan," she said, excitedly. She hugged her stuffed tiger close to her as if she could feel her parents' warmth. That was enough to make him feel guilty for the next ten years or so. **

Hiiro ran a hair through his blond hair, sighing and putting a blanket over Mizu. "Damn it, imouto-chan. Why do you have to be such a good little sister?" Then he went into the kitchen to start making dinner.

An Hour Later

Mizu smacked her lips together, sighed and rolled over on her stomach. She was enjoying the warmth of the blanket and the comfortable pillow. She opened her eyes a little bit to see a pair of warm eyes smiling down at her. Her green eyes widened in fright. _What the hell?! _She fell off of the couch, trying to escape from the watching pair of eyes.

"Oh! Mizu-chan, are you okay?" a crackly voice asked her.

That voice sounded familiar...It sounded like "Grandpa!" Hiiro came into the room, holding a spatula in one hand and wearing a white apron around his waist. His face was blackened with soot. Mizu and grandpa just looked at him with wide eyes as Hiiro muttered something about 'stupid turkeys'.

"Did you just try to cook, onni-chan?" Mizu asked, trying to stifle her giggles.

"...Shut up..." Hiiro just muttered, wiping his face with the apron.

Mizu and grandpa just laughed at the annoyed college student, then Mizu turned to her grandpa.

"Grandpa, when did you get home?" she asked, smiling. She was always happy to see her grandpa, even if he is too strict at times. How could she not love the man, who's been taking care of her and her brother since they were little kids.

"Well, I entered the house just now and saw that my cute little granddaughter sleeping. So I just had to watch her and try to pinch her (face) cheeks," her grandpa said in a baby voice. Even though, Mizuki was 16 years old, her grandpa still considered her his 'cute little granddaughter.' He always likes to pinch her cheeks, even though all her baby fat disappeared twelve years ago.

Mizu blushed out of embarrassment, running away from his reach so he couldn't pinch her face. Hiiro caught Mizuki from running upstairs and gave her the spatula. He pointed to the kitchen, untying the apron and handing it to her. Mizu frowned, as much as she liked to cook, she still wanted to nap some more. Hiiro's eyes widened, realizing that he and Mizuki forgot about something. Something very important.

He followed Mizuki to the kitchen, slowly closed the door and turned to face his sister. His face was red so Mizu could tell that he was nervous about something. She cocked an eyebrow and asked him,"What's the matter with you, onni-chan?"

"Imouto-chan, I think you forgot about something very important. Something that grandpa can't discover about..." he said, peering out of the kitchen door to see if his grandpa was going upstairs.

"Something important? Like wha-" Then it dawned on her. _The man! How could I so easily forget about the man?_ _If grandpa went upstairs and saw the man, he would think that the man was with me!_

She frantically grabbed a hold of Hiiro's shirt, clutching it with all her might. He could see that his sister was troubled with more than just the strange man problem. He could tell that something else was wrong by her troubled green eyes.

"What am I supposed to do?! If grandpa finds out, he would take me out of the school! I wouldn't be able to go outside anymore!" she panicked, tears threatening to spill.

"Whoa! Calm down, Mizuki. I know that you hate being stuck at home all day, but that's not going to happen. We'll just have to move the guy. Besides, it's not like he'll check up on you in your room. Then again, he would be suspicious since you **are **sleeping on the couch instead of in your bed," he said.

"Hiiro! That's not helping!" she yelled.

"Is everything all right?" their grandpa asked from the living room.

"We're just arguing on what we should be having for dinner!" Hiiro lied.

"Well, anything would be fine but nothing too spicy. I've had a long flight!" Grandpa said.

Upstairs in Mizu's room, Hiei was growing bored of the ningen surroundings. He longed to be out in Makai, training and begrudgingly, do Koenma's biddings. He missed some of his allys, even the "baka" also known as Kuwabara. His fever had gone down while Mizuki was out. He couldn't help that he could recover fast from a little fever. He was, after all, a fire demon.

While Mizuki panicked, her brother tried to calm her down. The grandpa was resting on the sofa because of jet lag. The whole Aoi family was 'busy' while Hiei was changing into his regular black clothes. He had found them in the bathroom, hanging over the shower so it could be dried. It was already dried when he grabbed them.

­In the Kitchen

"All right, Mizu. Are you calm?" Hiiro asked while Mizu nodded. "All right. As I said earlier, all we have to do now is to carry the guy into my room. Grandpa will never suspect anything as long as I go back to my dorm tonight. He'll just think that I have to finish whatever project I have and that guy can just sleep in my room until his fever goes down. Then you have to kick him out of the house."

Mizuki nodded slowly. "Wait," she said. "Why do I have to kick him out of the house?"

Hiiro just smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. "He can't possibly stay in the house for the entire year!"

"I know, but it's not polite just kicking him out of the house," she said, looking disapprovingly at her brother.

"He could be an ex-con and you would still let him stay!? Mizu, you are really way too nice for your own good," Hiiro said, exasperated.

"What's wrong with being nice?" she said, offended.

The silly Aoi siblings argued while a fire demon was climbing out one of their windows. Hiei jumped onto the nearest tree branch, which was right outside Mizuki's window. An uninvited guest looked up in disbelief as she watched Hiei disappear into a dark portal. A smirk ran across her lips, her eyes gleamed with mischief. _Here's an interesting way to blackmail that Shuuichi stealer._

Fumi continued to walk up to the brightly-lit house, an evil smile still evident on her lips. She was going to have a great time, blackmailing her enemy. The same new girl, who has been trying to chase Shuuichi ever since she stepped foot into the school. She keeps claiming that she doesn't want Shuuichi. _Yeah, right, bitch. I know you want him as much as I do. Although, our love is stronger than that. You won't be able to break us up. _She thought all that even though, Shuuichi didn't have one ounce of romantic thought towards the crazy fan.

She reached out to ring the doorbell; she stepped back and waited for someone to answer the door. Mr. Aoi (the grandpa) was going to get off the sofa to answer the door, but Hiiro ran out of the kitchen to get it. As the kitchen door opened, anybody could see that Mizu was miffed about something. She had her hands to her hips and glared at her brother's back.

She dropped her arms, _Oooh, I guess he won't change his mind. What a baka! He's in college! How can he not know that you don't just throw an ill person out in the street? Even if someone's fever were reduced, they still have to stay in bed for a few days. _

She stomped off into the living room, stopped when she realized that her grandpa was in there. She just giggled nervously and walked lighter so he wouldn't think she was upset about something. When she was out of his sight, she scolded herself for being so obvious. Her grandpa looked at the spot where she was standing. He wondered if she was upset about a particular anniversary coming up.

Mizuki walked up the stairs as lightly and quickly as she could, she prayed that her grandpa wasn't worried enough to follow her. Once she reached her room, she opened the closed door. The room was dark due to the night sky outside. She ran into the room, clicked on the lamplight. The bed was lumpy. Mizu didn't want to disturb the ill man, but she didn't have a choice. Maybe she could move him without him waking.

"I'm sorry to do this, but if grandpa finds out you're here..." she said, taking the covers off of him.

A loud gasp came from her mouth; it was just a pillow! It was one of her long pastel pink pillows. She covered her mouth with her hands, still staring at the spot where the man should be. _Where is he? What if he's wandering in the house!? Grandpa would surely see him then! I have to tell onni-chan! I shouldn't panic so fast. Maybe he's under the bed. _

Mizuki bent over to look under the bed; she squinted into the dark space. Her hand was groping furiously under the bed until she was positive that he wasn't under there. She was so desperate that she poked her head under the bed.

"**MIZUKI!!!!**" Hiiro yelled from downstairs.

The yell surprised Mizuki so much that she raised her head, which bumped right into the bed. "**OW!**" she yelped, rubbing her sore head. If she thought that a bump was one of her worries right now, then she was wrong.

"**MIZUKI! GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE!**" her brother yelled louder.

"Hai! I'm coming down!" Mizu said loudly. Her brother sounded angry for some reason. This wasn't right; **she **was supposed to be mad at him right now. She looked worriedly at the empty bed before running downstairs. She had to admit that she was a bit scared now. Her brother had never taken that tone of voice with her before.

"Onni-chan, why do you sound so...Hasakawa-san?" she said surprised, staring at the battered girl in front of her.

The president of the Minamino Shuuichi fan club stood in front of her, Hiiro was right behind her. He had an angry look on his face. Mizuki was confused, worried and shocked all at the same time. She had a good reason to be all of those things. She was confused at who would attack Fumi. She was shocked and worried at how severe some of the wounds were.

All her negative feelings towards the irritating fangirl disappeared as she stepped forward. She was going to lead Fumi into the bathroom so she could fix her wounds. Before she even touched her, Fumi let out a frightened cry. She hid behind Hiiro as if she was scared of something.

"It's okay, Hasakawa-san. I'll help you fix your wounds," Mizu said with a gentle smile.

"NO! GET AWAY!" Fumi screamed.

Hiiro dared not to believe at what this Hasakawa girl just informed him and his grandpa. Fumi started to cry hysterically, gripping tightly onto Hiiro. Hiiro already had a disliking for the girl, but she was attacked.

"Granddaughter," her grandpa started, a sad look upon his visage.

"Grandpa, what happened to Hasakawa-san?" Mizuki asked.

The fangirl was bruised all over. Blood was could be seen on the white bandages. Her eyes had dark circles around them as if she had been punched.

"Mizuki, Ms. Hasakawa just told us that you attacked her," her grandpa continued.

"She said that you two were fighting over some guy at school. Then when she was walking from school, you dragged her off some alley and started to beat on her," Hiiro told her.

"NANI?! (WHAT?!)" Mizuki exclaimed.

A/N: Okay, that was chapter 6. A lot of crazy things happened when grandpa returned home, didn't it? I wonder what happens in the next chapter?

**Lil KaWaIi AzN PrInCeSs**: Mizuki is supposed to be polite since her parents and Grandpa have taught her to be polite. Although, I should've made her slap him. I will write more Mizu/Hiei but first, they have to get to know each other first. That's going to be interesting. You actually cared enough to complain about the Kurama fluff. I'm so happy... But there will be _some _Kurama/Mizu moments since there is a love rectange/triangle. (I'm not even sure now)

**samuraiduck27**: Thank you for reviewing.

**slancaster113: **Yep, I've finally updated. You actually thought it was sweet. That's weird. I had to squeeze in just _some _fluff. I usually don't like to write fluff but since this is a romance...I'm also so glad that you liked it even though it was with Kurama.

**HieiFan666**: You'll just have to read and see what happens between Kurama, Mizu and Hiei. I won't say anymore or that'll spoil the surprises.

**Reborn-soul-09**: Don't worry. The fangirls will get theirs, but for now, I'm going to concentrate on Fumi and Mizu's interesting relationship. You know, fangirl vs. nice girl. Yes, I agree some **CRAZY **fangirls are quite annoying. Hiei will realize that he kissed Mizuki, but that'll be either later or somewhere between upcoming chapters. Btw, since Mizu isn't a guy, it should be Mizuki-chan.

**daisuke-hieiXXX**: Sorry, I am going include a fourth person into this story. If you don't like the love rectangle, then stop reading. You'd like Kurama and Mizu together. That's interesting...You know, I would review your story, but I don't know if you're one of those easily offended types.

**ReikkaShinen**: I will put more Hiei/Mizu in the chapters. The changing POV request is interesting, but I will have to think about it. You also mentioned that I've done that, but those are actually their thoughts in the italic. It doesn't necessarily mean that it switches POV. There was never a chapter where any of the characters started to tell the story in their point of view. I will definitely think about it, though.

**Rahenne**: That'll be a laugh. That's what I've always to write about in this fic; Kurama finding out that Mizu's taking care of his friend. Thanks for noticing.

**crazedcat**: I 'flip-flop' everything around sometimes just to make each chapter longer. It's hard to type up long chapters when you're out of ideas or trying to think of what to write next. I'm glad that the plunger scene made you laugh though. Everybody loves the storyline, but I think it's just all right. Not that great.

**dont have an account: **Another one of those details that reviewers don't comment on... Hiei in girl's clothing! Thank you for noticing.

**shadowtiger11**: Thank you for your compliment on my writing skills. You're the one of very few reviewers who ever does. Almost all authors want their reviewers to tell them what they like or what they don't like about the fic. Most reviewers are just scared that the authors would be offended and stop updating. The living with her grandpa situation was to stop producing cliched characters. I wanted Mizu to be different from my other original characters, who all have parents or don't have parents and are living by themselves. I disliked the fact that I kept writing the YYH cast so out of character. Well, the who's going to be with who situation will be revealed much later.

Aheheh...Well, I would read your stuff, but it's just that I'm pretty picky about the fics I read. I'll try to read your fics when I'm in a good mood. I'm a very critical person especially when I'm not in a good mood. I don't know if you'll be offended by my comments or not. Some authors are so easily offended that they'll start yelling even if I suggest that they use spellcheck for their fics.

**insaneningen14:** I will reveal the fourth person of the love rectangle in chapter 9 probably. That's pretty funny. You're one of the last two reviewers of this story while I was uploading chapter 7.

**Kamikaze-Watermellon:** Yes, I know. I was thinking that he was being too out-of-character when he hugged Mizu, but people want romance...You're also one of the last two reviewers while I was uploading the new chapter.


	8. Against Mizuki

AA/N: This story hasn't been updated in months (forgot how many) but I'm finally going to update it. Okay, I'm going to spill the beans on who the fourth person in the love rectangle is: Botan!

Chapter 8: Against Mizuki

Mizu can't believe what was happening at the moment in time. Here she was, worrying about a missing stranger, trying to forget what happened between her and Shuuichi, remembering that a depressing anniversary was coming up and now she has to worry about a crazy fangirl, who really attacked _her _with a bunch of other girls, accuse her of beating her up. Wasn't Fumi grateful that Mizuki didn't inform a teacher or anybody else the crime that she had committed? Mizu's fingers were starting to curve slightly, forming a slight circle with them and taking a step toward Fumi right now. She just wanted to release all her sorrows and anger on this particular witch. (Meaning she wanted to strangle her.)

Her arms shook with frustration, she took a step away from Fumi and slowly ascended upon the stairs. She didn't utter a word to anyone in the living room. With a mixture of sadness and anger, she finally reached the landing of the second floor. Mizuki went inside of her room. She didn't know if she wanted to cry or not because she was confused. What was all this happening to her?

_Is this some sort of cruel punishment? What exactly did I do wrong? _She just rolled over on her bed and burrowed her face in a pillow. Tears stained the light pink pillow as she closed her eyes. Mizu just wanted to escape to dreamland where she could be safe.

­**Dream**

**"Where am I?" Mizu asked, looking around the dark atmosphere. **

**There was only a few available lights underneath her feet, the top of skyscrapers were visible and people were the size of ants to her. To her right, the sun was going back to its slumber; allowing the moon to come out to illuminate the dark city. Mizu's heart pounded heavily against her chest and her breath was caught in her throat. She had never seen the city from up here before. _Where am I? Why am I here! Mom! Dad! Onni-chan and grandpa! Where are all of you!_**

**In the dark sky, she tried to run to her family might be. **

**"You and I are much alike..." a sad voice said.**

**Mizu stopped in her tracks, her hand over her heart. Her green eyes wide open as she slowly turned around to see who had just said that.**

**"You don't need to be afraid at all, Mizuki-chan," the sad voice said again. **

**With a turn of her head, she couldn't see anybody who said that sentence. **

**"Who are you? Why am I here!"Mizu asked the dark sky. **

**As she stood atop of a white cloud, she waited for the sad voice to say something again.**

**"You already asked that question," it said.**

**The voice was right behind her.**

**She turned around slowly...**

"Wake up, imouto-chan! Hey! Wake up!" Hiiro said, shaking her whole body.

**_You will NEVER get him! _**A dangerous voice said in her head. With a surprised cry, Mizu pushed Hiiro to the floor, rushed to the window and looked down. She swung a leg over the side of the open window but Hiiro pulled her body back before she could jump.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Hiiro asked angrily. "Some girl accuses you of beating her up and suddenly, you want to go kill yourself? Are you out of your damn mind!"

"I-I don't know! I just know that I don't want to be alone anymore!" she cried, sobbing onto her brother's shirt.

He didn't say anything, just stroked her back with his hand and tried to soothe his little sister. The only solution in his mind was to let Mizu sleep some more. Hopefully, that would break her out of this depressing spell.

_Was I just hearing things or did Hiiro actually yell at me? Who's 'him' that I will never get? Was it Shuuichi and was it really Fumi's voice that I heard? I miss okaa-san and otou-san. I wish they would come back and tell me everything's okay._

_**"You and I are much alike..." a sad voice said.**_

_Such a sad voice...Whoever it was, why did you say we're so much alike? Is it because we're both sad?_

The next morning

"You're in public school now, you're not supposed to be late for school," Hiiro said in his sister's ear.

"Erm...what time is it?" Mizu asked, sleepily.

When Hiiro told what the current time was, Mizu flipped out.

"WHAT! I'm that late!" she yelled, jumping out of the covers.

Once she finished her two-minute shower, she pulled on her school uniform. Unfortunately, she raced out of the house without changing into her school shoes. Now she was racing down the street with pink slippers on her feet. It wasn't until she ran to the school that she realized, "Today's a Sunday!"

"Grr! Onni-chan, you're going to pay for this," she grumbled as she walked back down the street, leading back to her home.

Passersby questioned Mizu's sanity as she angrily talked to herself and walked with her skirt stuck in her panty. Boys whooped and hollered as she walked past them; causing her to be confused. Basically, she looked like she was 'making love' with some guy in an alleyway and didn't bother to dress properly. Since she wasn't so used to the attention, she looked down at the ground with an embarrassed blush. She did feel a bit strange; it was rather cooler down in the derriere department.

"Mizu-chan!" a familiar voice called.

When Mizu looked up at the person, who just called her, she broke into a run. She didn't want to see him at this moment especially since what happened yesterday. Kurama started to chase after the girl with the intention of telling her about her skirt. Mizu thought that he wanted to talk about yesterday.

_I don't want to talk to him! Don't let him catch me! Why are so many people concentrating on me today! _She thought as several people pointed and laughed at her.

"Mizuki, stop running! I have something to tell you!" Kurama yelled.

"NO! Go away!" she yelled, tears in her eyes now.

"OMPH!" She looked up at the person; she had just bumped into. She got up, bowed politely and blushed while apologized for bumping into him. "I'm sorry for that! It was my fault for not watching where I was going!"

Keiko, Botan and Yusuke looked down at the top of Mizu's head as she continued to apologize. Yusuke just stood in confusion at the girl's extreme politeness while Keiko bent down to gently tell the girl that it was all right. She shot a slight glare at Yusuke, who didn't bother to stop her from bowing so much.

"Konnichiwa, Shuuichi-kun," Botan addressed him.

"Konnichiwa, minna-san (everybody)," Kurama said from behind Mizu.

Mizuki didn't want to face any of these people so she just kneeled, looking at the ground with empty eyes. She felt someone grasp her arm gently and pulled her up from the floor. Still her eyes were locked on the solid pavement.

"Is that girl all right?" Yusuke asked Kurama.

"I think so," Kurama answered, putting an arm around her shoulder so he could support her. Suddenly, it seemed as though her legs turned into jelly. She could hardly stand on her own two feet anymore. All thoughts drained out of her mind as her vision started to blank. It was all dark now. Again, she was trapped in the cold dark city sky.

Someone was sitting on the crescent moon, hanging in the night sky. Mizu could see the person's silhouette.

Somehow, she knew that she was afraid of that person but at the same time, she pitied her. A breeze blew across the sky, Mizu shivered slightly.

"Why...am I here?"

"...because you belong here. You don't belong with him. Only **I** belong with him," she said.

"By 'him', do you mean Shuuichi-kun? Are you Hasakawa-san?" Mizu asked, her voice quivering.

"Your parents died when you were just a little girl and your heart was broken into a million pieces. You actually thought that they wanted to leave you forever. That's not true. On the night of their car accident, before they died. The one thing that they thought of was...'I'm sorry, Mizuki-chan...I couldn't fulfill our promise of coming back for your birthday'."

Tears automatically ran down her cheeks. She grasped her heart to stop the deep pounding of despair. She gritted her teeth and sniffled. _I'm crying like a little girl. _"Why are you trying to torture me? You and everybody else, trying to break me down for no reason! I thought that everything would be great since I started going to a public school. Then all these things started to happen. I don't understand why. Is it some sort of punishment because I want to get out of the house for a change?"

"Please wake up, Mizuki-chan," Botan's voice broke through her darkness.

Her eyes slowly opened to see Botan's friendly face. She sat up on Yusuke's couch, groaning and holding her aching head. She rubbed her eyes, looking at the new surroundings. Things were messier in the living room at which Keiko tried to clean. Whenever she came across a particular magazine that Yusuke liked to read, she rolled them all up and whacked him over the head with it. "PERVERT!" could be heard from the other room, followed by an "OUCH!"

"How are you, Mizuki-chan?" Botan asked, smiling.

"Ah...I'm fine but how did you know my name?" she asked.

"Oh, you see, Kur-that is-I meant, Shuuichi told me. You know him from school, ne?" she said.

"Hai," she looked at the blanket, then looked at Botan again. "Gomen, I didn't ask you for your name."

"That's all right. I'd imagine that you'd forget about being polite when you're his special one. My name's Botan by the way," she said, smiling sadly.

"Konnichiwa, Botan-chan. If you don't mind, can I ask you a question?" Mizu said.

"Go ahead," she answered.

"When you said that I was 'his special one', you meant Shuui-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Botan shook her head and giggled nervously. "Actually, forget that I made that comment. It's a very rude and probably inaccurate one."

"Botan-chan, you like-MMPH!" Botan stuffed a white bun into Mizuki's mouth to stifle her.

"SHH!" she put a finger to her lips, looking into the kitchen briefly at the angry Keiko, who was currently whacking Yusuke with more porn magazines. She had to make sure that nobody knew of her feelings. "I don't want anyone to know! Please don't tell anyone." Mizu nodded, Botan took her hand away from her mouth.

"Gomen nasai," she said.

"Sorry for what?" Kurama asked, surprising both the girls.

"Uh-nothing!" Botan immediately said.

"All right then," he said, then turned to Mizu,"Mizuki-chan, are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm all right, Shuuichi-san," Mizuki said. She turned away from their gazes, blushing deeply. "Um...I think I should be going! Thank you for taking care of me!" she said, getting off the couch.

"You're welcome, but aren't you still a little dizzy?" Botan said.

"Nope! Mizuki-chan is just A-OK!" Mizuki tried to say cheerfully.

"FINALLY! Where the hell have you been!" Yusuke voice could be heard from behind her.

When she turned around to look at him, she saw him..."Hiei! There you are!" Botan said.

A/N: This chapter is crap but at least, you all know who's the fourth person of the love rectangle. Mizuki sees Hiei again...What will happen? Who knows until people review. Anybody care to guess who's talking Mizuki in the darkness? Don't feel like doing review replies this chapter, but I will for the next chapter.


	9. Hiei

A/N: It's pretty obvious that most characters are out of character and in this chapter, it's no different.

Chapter 9: Hiei

"Hmm...Mizuki just left fifteen minutes ago and she's not back yet. Doesn't she realize that I just played a joke on her? She must've realized that and now she's punishing me by making me eat my own breakfast," Hiiro said to himself, grimacing at the thought. _Please come back soon, imouto-chan! Your onni-chan's going to starve to death if you don't! _

Back at Yusuke's Apartment

Taken aback by his sudden appearance, Mizuki, forgetting all her manners, screamed,"It's you! You're all right!"

Hiei just glared at her while the others looked in surprise. Kurama was the one, who was most surprised by this turn of events. How did the only girl that he had feelings for, know his bestfriend? The living room was quiet for Mizuki didn't know what to say next. Hiei felt as though he didn't owe this girl a thing, not even a thank you. Naturally, he wouldn't utter a greeting for his savior. Mizuki, unnerved by his silence, stared until she finally had the courage to ask. "WHERE DID YOU GO! I WAS SO WORRIED!" With a cry of relief, she tried to hug him but he used his speed to dodge her.

All the while, Kurama just stood there with wide eyes as he watched the event unfolding before his eyes. _Mizuki-chan...ran up to Hiei and attempted to hug him! Hiei...my bestfriend is boyfriend material for Mizu! Mizuki, I remember when you squirmed in my arms, trying to get out. Yet you attempted to hug Hiei..._A miniature version of Mizuki appeared in his mind and squeaked, "I would rather be with Hiei-kun than with you!" Then a miniature version of Hiei puffed up next to her and she glomped him, smiling contently. The miniature Hiei sweatdropped but blushed all the same.

"Err...Shuuichi, you all right?" Keiko asked, waving her hand before him. Kurama snapped out of his reverie and the two miniature figures disappeared from his mind. _Then again, Hiei would never develop feelings for anyone besides...I must stop thinking this way. The next thing I know, I'll be jealous of my own friend! _

Mizuki remained on the floor where she had fallen when Hiei moved from her path. _How can that man move so fast after his fever? It's almost as if he isn't a human. All of a sudden, I feel tired again. _Mizu rubbed her throbbing temples, closing her eyes to try to ease the pain. An overwhelming wave of sleep swept over her body. Amidst everything happening, she curled up on the carpet like a baby and slept. Before she fell into a deep sleep, she felt someone lifting her body up and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

Meanwhile at Aoi residence, Hiiro was getting worried at Mizuki's absence. He didn't know any of her friends so he couldn't possibly call them. Back and forth, he paced in the kitchen, trying to think of a solution. He couldn't call the police because she needed to be missing twenty-four hours before he could report her as a missing person. _WHERE IS SHE! She couldn't possibly have ran into a rapist? So early in the morning? It was just a trick. She could've came home when she realized it was a joke. Note to self: get imouto-chan a cell phone. _

**"Happy birthday, Mizuki!" Mizuki's family shouted.**

**Colorful confetti rained down upon her as she marveled at the magnificient decorations. Her mom and dad kissed on both sides of her cheeks. When their parents weren't looking, Hiiro punched her sister five times and a pinch to grow an inch. Their mom scolded him when she heard Mizu's squeak. Her dad just chuckled and brought out a box with holes and a big red ribbon on top of it. **

**"Guess what it is, Mizuki-chan!" her dad exclaimed. He lifted the cover before she could answer, "It's your very own puppy!" A curious Labrador puppy stuck his head out of the box and panted. With a gasp of delight, she hugged the golden puppy around the neck and screamed,"I'm going to name him Hideaki! Thank you, everyone!" **

**Hideaki licked the side of his new owner's face and pressed its wet nose against her nose. **

**A year later...**

**At her parents' funeral, Mizuki sat alone on a chair with a dark grey sweater draped over her little shoulders, stared emptily at the ground. While her other relatives were paying their respects, Naoko, one of her teenage cousins came up to her. She had long brown hair and blue eyes. Today her hair was tied up in a neat bun with a black ribbon and her dress was all black. **

**"Are you okay, Mizuki-chan?" Naoko said, attempting to smile. **

**Mizuki's body was visibly shaking underneath her brother's sweater; her eyes were finally showing some emotion. Naoko put her hand on Mizuki's shoulder to calm her down. She smiled gently to make her feel better.**

**"It'll be all right, Mizu. Just remember your mommy and daddy still loves you in the afterlife," she said.**

**Finally, Mizu looked up at her with burning tears sliding down her porcelain cheeks. "I saw-" she began,"I saw Hideaki-chan being run over by a car! I want Hideaki to come back to me! I want my mommy and daddy to come back with me! Why is everyone leaving me!" **

"Hideaki..." An image of the happy and lovable puppy flashed into her mind. With a scream, she sat up in her bed. The image of her beloved puppy running in front of a car and its whimper before it was...Her fingers brushed away her brown bangs away from her forehead. It was then that she realized that this wasn't her room. It was so familiar. It was...She looked at the same bouquet of flowers in a flower-patterned vase, realizing that it was the same batch of flowers that she gave to Shuuichi.

_I'm in Shuuichi-kun's room! But how? I was in my room...No, onni-chan tricked me into thinking that it was a school day...Now I remember everything but I thought that I was at another person's house. I think it was somebody named Yusuke?_

"So you're finally awake," Hiei said, who was sitting at the windowsill, looking at the outside view.

"Yes...Um...My name is Aoi Mizuki! Do you remember me? I was the one who took care of you when you had a fever," she said. Her last word ended in a timid squeak. In an attempt to make conversation, she said,"Maybe you could tell me your name? I'd like to know what to call you in the future." A weak smile appeared on her lips. Hiei answered her without bothering her," We won't see each other in the future so what's the point in knowing my name?"

Mizuki didn't know how to respond to that so she remained quiet. Both of them did until he hopped from the window and walked out of the bedroom door, he muttered,"I'll tell 'Shuuichi' that you're awake. Sayonara and coughthankyoucough."

When he was out of earshot, Mizuki wondered if she heard him say,"Thank you" but covered it up with false coughs. _What a strange man. He won't even tell me his name..._

A/N: That chapter was lacking but that was because I wasn't inspired. Anyway, see you in the next chapter.

**Review Replies**

**animebishieluver**: It's weird to have someone say my whole penname. Everyone wishing to address me; call me Kiko. I think I was reading too much old shoujo manga stories when I was creating Mizuki. If you read those, you'll find that the main character blushes more than Mizuki. Anyway, thanks for reading.

**crazedcandie**: Sorry, but I can't really help it because of writer's block and stuff going on in my life. I also have to do my schoolwork so it's not a good thing to write fanfics when I have to concentrate on high school. If you have trouble remembering what happens, then re-read the story or I'll summarize in new chapters what happened so far.

**HieiFan666**: I had to think of something to make this story funnier because it was getting more dramatic. I remembered seeing a little girl with her dress like that but nobody even said anything. lol

**EyeoftheTigerKissoftheDragon**: Mizuki isn't Ayane's reincarnation. In a character competition, I like Ayane better than Mizuki so that would never happen. I like making readers confused so they wouldn't be able to predict the outcome. I'm just evil that way. Don't worry, everything will be revealed in the ending chapter.

**ReKo-KiTsUnE**: That was my favorite part, too! I just love to embarrass my characters. I just had to add something unexpected like that.

**insaneningen14** Thanks for your compliment. And no, Mizuki didn't tell on Fumi.

**missmanga90**: That's an interesting guess but her mom isn't an important character.

I would like to thank the rest of the reviewers: Oodori, Stacy, KitsuneofShadows,


	10. Unrequited Love and the Plan

A/N: Finally! I am updating this story. sigh...I don't know how many more chapters I should write. All I know is that I need to make something big happen and the conclusion will be surprising. I don't know if some of you will hate or love the ending. Anyway, I guess that you'll all need to wait...Maybe until chapter 25? I won't go to chapter 30 or over though.

Chapter 10: Unrequited Love and the Plan

"Don't worry about me, Shuuichi-kun. I'll be just fine. I've walked home alone lots of time. Nothing happened to me," Mizuki said reassuringly. _Except for the time that your fanclub surrounded and beat me up. _She was almost out of the door when he grabbed her arm. He couldn't help that inside he didn't want her to go. Even if he knew that her brother would worry about her if she didn't go home soon, he wanted her to stay. Mizu looked expectantly at Kurama. "Was there anything else that you wanted from me?"

He nodded solemnly. "As a matter of fact, yes, there is something I want from you," he said, releasing her arm. He trust her not to run away. He turned away from her, sighing and running his fingers in his hair in a frustrated manner. "About today. When I called out your name, why did you run away from me? Am I that repulsive to you?" Kurama asked quietly. Mizuki, shocked that he asked that, turned away from his gaze and backed up a few steps.

_No, no, you're not repulsive. Though if I said that, he'll just ask I tried to run away from him. I want to tell him that I'm not interested in him but I've never rejected any guy before. _

"Were you afraid that I was going to tell you that I love you?" Her head drooped as she was deciding what to do: shake or nod her head? "Well, if you must know, that wasn't the reason I was chasing you. The real reason for that was..." Kurama paused a bit, trying to cover up his blushing face. He remembered that he saw her pink panties earlier. Mizuki raised her head and prompt him to go on. "Was...thatyourpantieswereshowing!" He said quickly. Her mind was slowly deciphering his words.

_"...thatyourpantieswereshowing!" If I split the words apart, they say "that your panties were showing!" _"AHHH!" Mizuki screamed in embarrassment. "I was running around the streets with my skirt hiked up! No wonder people were pointing and laughing at me, especially boys!" _Worst of all, Shuuichi-kun saw them! _Shamefully, Mizuki turned to face Shuuichi. He was still trying to keep his blush under control. "If that is all you wanted to say to me then please get out of my way, I have to go home," she said coldly. The idea of her running around in her underwear earlier was mortifying for her. Mizuki just wanted to go home and sleep the day away.

"WAIT! That's not all. Stop trying to get away!" Kurama half-yelled, grasping her arm once more. Unbeknownst to the two, Hiei was watching them from behind the door. He peered through the crack while listening to their conversation. He surveyed Mizuki with deep interest. _So Kurama fell in love with that girl...How interesting. He's usually not interested in human girls. _

Mizuki was angry and embarrassed. She couldn't fight back those feelings. She was angry at Fumi and at herself. At Fumi because she lied and at herself because she deemed herself to be so pathetic. How she wanted to lie down in bed and cry her heart out. The unhappy anniversary that was coming up...She'd always lock herself in her room and cry on the day of that specific anniversary. "LET GO OF ME!" She said in an emotional tone. Kurama was taken aback when he saw her crying. She looked...beautiful to him. Just so vunerable and so precious. He wanted to hold her and tell her that everything would be all right. He wanted to put a hand on her pink cheek and comfort her with a kiss. He wanted to see her smile and accept his lips. In reality as Mizuki were on her knees crying and sobbing, Kurama's hand couldn't quite make it over to her. It was shaking as it tried to get closer to her body. Even if to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, it hesitated. _Maybe it would upset her more. _

A pained expression passed over his face to be replaced with a false smile. "Mizuki-chan?" He said, kneeling down beside her and offering her a hand. Mizuki looked up at him with painful eyes. There it was again; vulnerability and beauty. Before she knew what happened, she could feel something warm against her mouth. She could see his closed eyelids and feel his lips. _Why...Especially when I'm completely defenseless? _Her eyes looked on in shock as they landed on the window. She suppressed a gasp; behind the glass window; Botan was gaping and staring at the two. She was slowly shaking her head then she ran off. Mizuki could tell that she was about to cry.

That night, Mizuki laid on her back and stared up at the ceiling. When she had finally got home about two hours before, her grandpa was waiting for her on the couch. He was worried to death about her. He yelled at Hiiro about how irresponsible for tricking her that morning. She was also scolding for being so late and not bothering to call them. After that, her grandpa pulled her into a death grip hug. She remembered what he told her, "You're my only granddaughter and I can't lose you! Do you know that this old man is losing more of his life because he's always worried about your well-being. That's why I didn't want you to go to a public high school. I didn't want you to be a teenage rape satistic or receive a phone call from somebody telling me that they found your dead body!" All she said was "Yes, Grandpa. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Grandpa, I really am sorry. My life is not so perfect but I shouldn't worry you. I love you, Grandpa. I want you to live forever so you can see me graduate high school, start and graduate college, get married and your grandchildren," she said to herself. Ever since her parents died, her grandpa took her brother and her in. Whenever she'd cried at night for her parents, he was always there to hold her until she was asleep. He'd taught her things that she didn't understand. In his eyes, Mizuki and Hiiro were the only people that reminded him of his own daughter, Mizuki's deceased mother. Given to the fact that Mizuki acted more like her mother, her grandpa treated her like she was a precious treasure. Unfortunately, he loves her too much that he never wanted to give her away. He just wanted her to remain his little sweet granddaughter forever. Another reason why that he doesn't want her to interact with other people besides him and her brother.

In a dark corner of her dimly-lit room, the blonde-haired fangirl was fuming at what she had witnessed outside Kurama's house. _My ideal boyfriend and that BITCH liplocking together! Unforgivable! Minamino Shuuichi is mine and mine alone! No one else can have him! HOW DARE SHE! _She stood up and walked to her full-length mirror. Her tightened fist collided into the mirror, breaking it to a hundred pieces. Fumi wrapped her fingers around a large piece of glass. Without hesitation, she plunged into her bare stomach and carved out his name; smiling as she did so. "Don't worry, Shuuichi, I will help you get rid of that nuisance," she said, cackling into the dark night.

Even though, it was already one in the morning, Kurama couldn't sleep a wink. He kept thinking how brave he'd been when he kissed her. Still, he had remembered how he caught Hiei spying on them. After Mizuki left in a cab that Kurama paid for (because she was in a daze), he asked Hiei a question that has been killing him. "Hiei, How exactly do you know Mizuki-chan?" Hiei countered that question with a question of his own, "How can you trust that girl? She exudes a strange aura. A familiar aura...yet a very sinister one."

"I don't feel any kind of aura when I'm around her. I just feel remorse and longing when I'm around her. I feel remorse because I do things to her out of her will; like hugging or kiss her. I feel longing because she doesn't want me," Kurama sighed.

"You're getting soft over a human girl that's not even pretty to begin with..." Hiei said emotionlessly.

"Well, I apologize that the one that I love isn't as beautiful as your Ayane but that's who I choose," Kurama said, a hint of anger and sarcasm in his tone.

"I'm just warning you about my gut feeling. There's something suspicious about that girl. Just be careful when you're around her," he said. He turned and jumped out of the window to the nearest tree.

Kurama sighed and rolled over in bed. "No more thinking about this. I'm too tired." He clicked off his lamp and went to sleep.

­At Aoi Residence, Mizuki's room

_**You know, I wanted you to die by jumping out of the window to make it look like a suicide...So Kurama wouldn't be suspicious. That kitsune is always sticking his nose in other people's affairs. It seems like that I need you for something. Although, why I have to be stuck within your flat and weak body is something that eludes me. The reason of why I wanted to kill you in the first place? You're going to get something that's rightfully mine. **_

_The once sad voice sounds mad now. Though I can still hear pain seeping through her voice. Who's Kurama? What am I going to get that's so important to her?_

"Excuse me," a timid voice said, surprising Kurama. He turned around to see a girl with short brown hair and green eyes. She was smiling shyly at him. _Oh, great, probably another one of my fangirls. I haven't seen her before. She's probably a transfer student. _"Good morning. My name is Aoi Mizuki. Could you tell me where class A-2 is? I'm a new student here and I'm lost already," she said, giggling in embarrassment.

"It must be your lucky day. A-2 is my homeroom, too. My name is Minamino Shuuichi," he said, smiling at her. "I'll walk you there."

"Oh, thank you. If I hadn't bumped into you, I probably would've had to miss the whole day of school!" She said.

"Wouldn't that have been a good thing for most people?" Kurama joked. He knew that most of his fellow classmates were slackers and didn't care much for school. They only cared about the trivial things in life like seeing a hot new movie, buying the latest CD, discuss a popular video game and so on.

"Really? There are people like that? Well, I was homeschooled almost all of my life and never been allowed to leave the house much. I wouldn't know," she said.

That was the day that Kurama became so enamored with such a rare girl. The more time they spent walking and talking together, the more he noticed valuable qualities within her. She talked to him not because of his reputation as a cute guy or because he seemed to be the ideal type of guy, but because he's a nice person. She could see past his good looks and knows that he's a good person. That's why...why...He came to love her within just a few days.

A/N: Finally finished typing this story. Even though, this is supposed to be HieixMizu, there's more KurxMizu. There'll be more MizuxHiei later because there's something that draws Hiei closer to Mizu...What could it be? Who's voice delve within Mizuki, why does Hiei think that Mizu's suspicious, what's Fumi going to do to Mizuki and how's Botan going to treat everyone else from now on! You're going to have to find out later.


	11. The Obstacles

Chapter 11: The Obstacles

A/N: This story just had its 100 review! Now I know how much you guys really love this story! Thank you! On another note, one of my characters, Ayane, is mentioned in this story but it's not associated with ­Painful Memories. Ayane has a somewhat different personality is this story. Btw, there's a few violent scenes, but nothing too bad though. In this story, a few people refer to Mizu as Aoi b/c they're not close to her so they address by her last name.

At Aoi Residence

"Yes, can I help you?" Hiiro said, holding onto the doorknob and looking at a strange redhead.

"Hello, I'm looking for Mizuki-chan," Kurama said to Mizu's brother. The blonde-haired college student told Kurama that Mizuki was still asleep.

"She won't be awake for a while so if you want, I'll give her a message from you. So what is it that you needed her for?" Hiiro said. He took a notepad and a no. 2 pencil from the nearby table and readied it. Kurama rubbed the back of his neck nervously and blushed at the thought. He wanted to ask her out on a real date. "Wait, I'm sorry but..." Hiiro interrupted. "You look like you're in high school but...you want to grab a bite to eat and a movie afterwards?" Which surprised Kurama in the least and made him back away from the blushing Hiiro.

"I'm sorry but I don't swing that way," he said quickly.

"...You're not a chick?" Hiiro asked with a disappointed look on his face. "No wonder you're so flat...Err...sorry about that. Don't tell anybody what just happened here. Anyway, what was it that you wanted again?" He was giggling nervously and trying to look away from Kurama.

"Well, I was going to ask Mizuki-chan for a date-" Kurama began but Hiiro interrupted him with his hand to his face.

"Hold it right there! Mizuki's not available!" He said sternly.

"I never realized that Mizuki-chan was taken-"

"Again, hold it right there! My sister was and will never be taken as long as our grandpa and I am still alive. First things first, I am quite protective of my sister. I don't want her to be hurt in anyway. Secondly, I don't know what kind of person you are so you're not allowed. And third, my grandpa is more protective of Mizuki than I'll ever be and trust me, you do not want him on your case all the time," Hiiro said as a matter-of-factly. "Now you'd better get going before that old coot wakes up and fries you." With that, Hiiro slammed the door shut on the Kurama's face. "Ah, now that that's over with, time to wake up Mizu for some breakfast!" Hiiro bounded up the stairs, opened his sister's door and yelled, "Rise and shine, sleepyhead! Time for breakfast- Oh, Mizuki, you're already awake."

Before him was Mizuki, sitting down at her vanity table, applying clear lip balm on her lips and a spot of perfume on her pulse point and on her neck. She didn't seem to hear him as she continued to look in the mirror, now applying mascara to her eyes. Hiiro was in shock of her sister's behavior, _Since when did Mizuki have make-up or perfume or a vanity table for that matter? _"Would you stop that!" Hiiro said, holding her arm from applying anymore mascara. "Are you playing dress-up now? Wipe all that make-up off and go downstairs and make breakfast for grandpa and me! Hey, stop looking at me that way." Mizuki glared at Hiiro with a hateful look in her eyes, her usually kind eyes.

"Give me my arm back!" She snapped, struggling in his tight grasp.

"No, hey, stay still. Let me help you get all that gunk out of your face," Hiiro said, holding his sister's hands with one hand and reaching for a tissue with another. Without warning, Mizuki bit one of Hiiro's hands before he let go.

"OWW! Hey! What the hell was that for?" Hiiro asked, holding his injured hand. "I was just trying to help! You know how grandpa would react if he saw you with make-up."

"What I do is none of your business! So you'd better butt off if you know what's good for you, _brother_," she said warningly. As he looked closer, he could see that there was something different with Mizuki's eyes. Holding her by the shoulders, Hiiro started to literally shake some sense into his sister, what had happened to her overnight? Why wasn't she acting like her cheerful self? What happened to the sweet Mizuki Aoi that he likes to protect?

"Mizuki-are-you-in-there?" Hiiro asked between each shake. The so-called Mizuki had enough of her 'brother's' attitude and decided to take action. She grasped his shoulder with one hand and pulled herself from his grip, kicking Hiiro in the stomach and slamming a chair on his back after he doubled over in pain. "I may have been a demon hunter but that doesn't mean I won't hurt humans," Mizuki said, stepping on his fingers. Helpless and unable to get up, he couldn't prevent Mizuki from opening the window and climb down the edge of the house.

Meanwhile, Botan sulked in Koenma's office, not paying attention to what the baby had to say. She was just too mad at Mizuki to even want to listen. Sure, she knew that Kurama wanted Mizuki more than he wanted her, but she was just too jealous. It's normal to be jealous, wasn't it? Of course, it was but was it really a good idea to be mad at Mizuki? After all, it wasn't really Mizuki's fault, it wasn't like she seduced Kurama or anything like that. "Oh, why does life have to be so complicated!" Botan suddenly yelled angrily, surprising Koenma and the blue ogre.

"Uh...Botan?" Koenma asked cautiously.

"WHAT IS IT!" She snapped and whipped around to face the Junior ruler of Reikai.

"Never mind!" Koenma answered fearfully.

­­At Fangirls' Headquarters

"Wait a minute! You said that you saw _our _Shuuichi and Aoi kissing and-" gasped one member of the Minamino Shuuichi fan club.

"Yup, they had sex. That bitch seduced him to do it," Fumi said with her teeth gritted. "I saw everything with my own eyes."

"How dare she after we taught her a lesson?" Boomed the voice of another member of the Minamino Shuuichi fan club.

"Yeah! Didn't we already give her a warning after beating her up?" The brunette next to Fumi piped up. The votes were unanimous; the fanclub members decided that they had to take a course of action against Mizuki. Now they were devising plans to take her out of Shuuichi's life forever, but how? Fortunately (or unfortunately), Fumi had an answer and her plan would definitely work ( or so they thought). After that, they decided, Shuuichi wouldn't take up his time to even bother to greet Mizuki.

"So the plan is to kidnap Aoi, take her panties and put it on the flagpole?" One of the dumb members of the fanclub asked.

"NO! Dumbass, Fumi just said that the plan was to kidnap Aoi, then...then um...what was it again?" Asked another dumb member.

"Okay, you two are officially out of this group," Fumi said, banging the gavel to state the decision to be final. "All in favor of Azuka and Komiya to be out of the fanclub, say 'aye'". The rest of the fanclub raised their hands and agreed on the decision. The two friends turned a shade of red before angrily storming out of the clubhouse.

_I'll show them. I don't need them. _Azuka thought as she and Komiya walked their separate ways to go home.

"I'll assume that none of you are dumb enough to forget the plan?" Fumi asked the rest of the club in a flat tone.

"Of course not, President Fumi. Anybody with a brain capacity would remember that you clearly said to kidnap Aoi Mizuki, threaten her until she breaks down into tears, shave her head and carve her face until nobody recognizes her," said the brunette, still next to Fumi.

"Correct," Fumi said happily. "Then she wouldn't be able to seduce him ever again." _And he'll finally be mine. Forget all of these dumb girls. He's mine for the taking. _

Meanwhile, Mizuki was walking in the local park, peering up at every tree that in her path. The normally conservative Mizuki was now wearing a noticeably revealing outfit. With her tight dark-red halter sweater, black leather mini-skirt and black boots, men and women noticed the girl walking around. The men stared at Mizuki with interest while women looked at her and murmured words such as 'slut' and 'whore'. _Where is he? He usually loves to sit up in trees. _She was too busy searching for him to even notice two members of the fanclub approaching her. Each of them hooked their arm around hers, surprising Mizuki, who looked at the girls on either side of her and shrugged away their touch.

"Let go! I don't have time for you losers!" Mizuki started to thrash around but they held on tighter. They were surprised that the usually shy and weak girl could be so strong all of a sudden. For the both of them, it took nearly all their strength to hang onto her arms.

"Look! Aoi-san, we just have to talk to you, that's all. Just calm down," one of them said, the one with glasses and brown hair.

"We'll talk later! I need to do something right now," Mizuki nearly yelled. The angry look on her face was almost frightening to the fangirls. Since when have the new girl become so fierce and mean? Telling them to go away was one thing but calling them names? The girl with glasses winked at the other girl, who nodded and ran off somewhere. "Your friend had the right decision of running away, so why don't you do the same thing?" Mizuki said condescendingly. _All right, I'm sick of this game. I plan to find Hiei, not play with a bunch of Kurama fangirls. _While the girl with glasses looked around for her fellow fangirls, Mizuki grabbed the girl by her throat and lifted her off the ground. Immediately, the girl started to sputter and gasp for air, trying to release Mizuki's hold on her.

"I already told you: we'll talk later, as for now, I'm busy," Mizuki said, throwing the girl on the ground and walking away into the deeper part of the park. _Hiei will surely be in there. He likes to sleep under shady trees. _

"Aiko! What are you doing on the ground? Are you okay? Where's Aoi?" Fumi asked, running towards the girl, followed by the whole fanclub.

"Aoi...Aoi just went into the center of the park," Aiko said breathlessly, then fainted on the ground. Fumi ran toward the opening of the deepest part of the park, her followers reluctantly ran after her before leaving Aiko alone.

_Perfect. If we torture her in the center of the park, there wouldn't be any witnesses. There's usually nobody in the center of the park anyway. _

As Mizuki walked deeper and deeper into the park, she came upon the darkest part of the park, where she knew Hiei spent time in. The trees seemed to be closing in on her but she didn't care, she just trudged along, listening for any indication of life in each tree. Fumi and her little gang watched Mizuki silently, acting like predators anxiously awaiting their delicious prey. They were careful not to step on any fallen twigs so that Mizuki wouldn't have a chance to run if she'd heard them. The leader of the mob was, of course, Fumi Hasakawa. The people closest to her were the tougher girls of the fanclub and the girls in the back of the mob were the weakest and luggage carriers. The luggage carriers had to carry the materials that they needed for Mizuki's so-called punishment.

_There's someone following me. _Mizuki had heard the rustling of the fallen leaves, the scrape of skirts against the tree barks, the stifled titters and the soles of school shoes stepping on the dirt. She stopped in her tracks and turned around, slowly, and sure enough, there they were; Kurama's fans. _How very amusing. _Her penetrating glare seemed to have shaken some of the girls, whose legs were shaking with fear. Fumi, however, was standing there with a smirk and her arms folded. She had waited too long to teach Mizu another lesson.

"Didn't get enough thrill out of beating me up the last time, Hasakawa? Came to feel better by beating me up with your followers again?" Mizuki seemed to smirk herself. "Why are you always involving your losers when it comes to beating me up? Afraid that I'll actually beat you up? Look, I know that you want Shuuichi for yourself and I'll 'fess up, I don't like him that way. So stop wasting your time bothering me and ask him on a date or something. And that time that you saw me kiss him? He was the one who forced the kiss on me and believe me, I didn't like it. So take your prissy little torturing tools and stuck it up your ass, bitches! I already told your little friend back there that I'm too busy to deal with anybody," she said and walked away.

Unfortunately, Mizuki pissed the leader and with a war cry, the group of twelve girls charged forward. Mizuki was too fast for them though, she grabbed a tree branch in time and hoisted her body onto it. One of Fumi's 'henchgirl' had caught Mizuki's leg to try to pull her down, Mizuki fended her off by kicking her in the face, causing the girl to clutch her bleeding nose. Despite Mizuki's high-heeled boots, she climbed up higher into the tree. Even though, she could take down all of these girls, she wasn't up to it right now. Not that she really liked violence against people or anything...She was just getting so annoyed at the absence of a certain someone.

"What are you doing up here?" A familiar voice asked her. Mizuki looked up at the higher branches and her heart jumped. _Finally! I found Hiei! _Her scowl automatically turned into a genuine smile. Hurriedly, Mizuki climbed higher to the spot where Hiei was looking at her with an annoyed expression, his arms behind his head. She was right; he _had _been sleeping in the shade. She could remember how much he liked to do that. Fumi's loud war cry must've woken him up.

"Answer my question, ningen," he said with a hint of impatience.

"Hiei..." Mizuki whispered, sitting onto the nearest branch and leaning forward. Her arms wrapped themselves around his neck and he could feel her lips brushing against hers. Hiei's eyes widened and pushed her away, much to Mizuki's displeasure. "What the hell are you doing, Aoi! Don't you know that Shuuichi loves you? And how did you know my name?" Hiei asked.

"Maybe this will remind you," Mizuki said and pulled him in for a deep kiss. The memory of Hiei's first kiss with Ayane popped into his mind. Mizuki's tongue slipped in Hiei's mouth and suddenly, another memory that he didn't remember popped into his mind.

**She was about to turn around and get some more soup, when his arms tightened around her waist and pulled her closer.**

**"Ayane..." he mumbled affectionately. His eyes still closed.**

**He was pulling her so close that there wasn't any space between them. Mizu tried to pull herself away. He kissed her lips a few times then started to slip his tongue in...**

_I kissed Kurama's Mizuki? I mean, I kissed Aoi? _

Mizuki opened her eyes, _Where am I?_ Her head was pounding. _Wait a minute! Who's kissing me? _Mizuki had just now realized that her tongue was in somebody's mouth. In fact, it was the same person, who had stolen her first kiss. In embarrassment and rage, Mizuki pulled herself from the dark-haired man, slightly glaring at him. It was then that she noticed that she was in one of the highest branches of a tree, screaming, she clutched Hiei tightly around the neck. "S-so scared...How did I get up here?" She whimpered, looking down at the crowd of fangirls below her and Hiei.

"So I'm guessing this is how you usually dress when you're out of school?" Hiei said, looking down at her outfit.

"What's wrong with my outfit?" Mizuki asked, now realizing the adultlike ensemble. Her eyes nearly popped out of her sockets. "What the hell? Why am I wearing my mom's Halloween costume?" She exclaimed. "What am I doing here anyway?" She asked Hiei in frustration. She assumed that this was his fault, the fact that she was wearing slutty clothes, sitting in a tree and woke up to find him kissing her again. Not to mention, she wasn't wearing a bra and the mob of yelling girls kicking at the tree trunk.

"I don't understand why you're here, but I was just enjoying a good nap when your friends started to yell," Hiei replied.

"Oh, I see," she simply said. _He didn't seem like he's lying to me then how did I get here? It's getting dark, too. If I go home too late, grandpa will yell at me again. I don't know to climb back down either. _"Excuse me," she said, making Hiei look at her.

"What?" Hiei snapped. He seemed to be grumpy due to the disturbance of his nap. Mizuki, trying to get up the courage to ask him to bring her back to home, loosened her hold of his neck, thinking that it would calm him down a little.

"I'm sorry that I disturbed your nap, mister, but-" The winds were starting to gather more strength, blowing at Mizuki and making the tree branches sway violently. Due to the change in weather condition, the fangirls had already gone back home. Mizuki's flimsy outfit wasn't enough to withstand the ferocity of the wind and nor was it ideal against the wet weather. Thunder boomed overhead and lightning illuminated the two lone figures. Hiei had just noticed that the human girl had started to shiver.

At Mizuki's house, Mizu's grandpa applied some medicine to Hiiro's injured fingers, the very same fingers that Mizuki had stepped on this morning. "Ahh, Grandpa, ease up on the medicine. That hurts. Damn! I didn't know that Mizuki knew how to fight. She really almost beat me up to death," Hiiro said, feeling where his back had been attacked with a chair.

"What exactly did you say to her, Hiiro?" The grandpa said, now handing his grandson an icepack for his back.

"Nothing! She was just acting weird, applying make-up and getting dressed up in mom's old call girl costume. Then when I tried to wipe her make-up off, she just flipped out and attacked me!"

"I knew it! Public high school is starting to get to her!" The grandpa said hysterically. He was always prone to jumping to conclusions.

"Uh, gramps, I don't think it's that. It's something else. I think something's bothering her," Hiiro said thoughtfully, wincing as he applied the ice pack to his lower back.

"Of course," the grandpa sighed. "It's probably because of the upcoming anniversary, the day when your parents and my only child died."

A/N: So that was a weird chapter and finally, there was some Hiei and Mizu moments. This chapter was called "The Obstacles" b/c it showed all the obstacles of Mizuki ever having a romantic relationship with anyone. Anyway, I really don't feel like saying anymore so just review.

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	12. The Forbidden Love Story

Title: One Stormy Night

Author: To Avoid Temptation

A/N: Finally, my writer's block is over! I bring you the new chapter of this story. This was supposed to be a simple love story but I expanded the plot. Although, I'll try to shorten the number of chapters. Like maybe write four more chapters and end the story?

Chapter 12: The Forbidden Love Story

"Mizuki-chan," said Hoshizawa Ren, one of her classmates as Mizuki held onto her aching head. "Is something wrong?" Mizu just smiled and shook her head.

"Nothing. I'm fine," Mizuki said and continued to discuss what Ren, herself and five other members of her cooking club should do for the upcoming school festival. Every year at the school, every school club had to come up with an idea for their own personal booth. Whichever club attracts the most people gets to skip cleanup duty for the whole year. So far while Ren and the other club members discussed ideas, Mizuki's head had been throbbing. She wanted some rest but since this was an important thing for her club and herself, she had to endure. She hadn't notice Shuuichi, who was the president of the Botany club, glancing over at her once in a while. He was starting to worry about her health especially ever since yesterday...

Yesterday Night

"Onni-chan, someone's on the phone for you!" Kurama's little brother called up the stairs. Kurama came downstairs, holding a book. "Who is it?" He asked, puzzled. Who would call him at this time?

"I don't know. It's some guy," Shuuichi said, handing the phone over to Kurama. He rubbed his eyes and went back upstairs to catch up on his sleep.

"Hello?" He said.

"Hello? Is this Minamino Shuuichi?" A worried voice asked.

"Yes, I am. Who is this?"

"This is Mizuki's brother! She's missing since this morning! Did she go by your place?!" Hiiro asked frantically.

"She's missing!?" Kurama repeated. He dropped the phone and ran out of the house.

"Hello! Hello! Are you still there?!" Hiiro yelled into the phone but nobody responded. "Damn it!" He slammed down the phone. "Imouto-chan, once I find you, you are so dead!" With that, Hiiro grabbed his jacket and started his search for Mizuki.

Meanwhile, Mizuki was wearing her red school uniform. It was showering lightly but Mizuki didn't bother to bring an umbrella. Slowly, she made her way through the woods to the lake.

**"Hiiro, Mizuki, come here!" Their dad called. They came closer to him and looked at where he was pointing. "Do you see those little fishes? Those are called tadpoles, baby frogs." **

**"No, they're not, daddy! Stop lying! Frogs can't swim! They go ribbit and they have legs," Hiiro said.**

**"Daddy wouldn't lie about something like that, Hiiro. You believe me, don't you, Mizuki-chan?" He turned to Mizuki who was still looking at the swimming tadpoles. She reached her hand out of the boat for them but her dad stopped her. "No, Mizuki! You wouldn't want to fall in, now would you?" Mizuki shook her head and smiled. **

**"Can daddy catch one for me? I want a tadpole," Mizuki said, smiling.**

**"No, sorry, Mizu-chan. It would be wrong for me to take someone's children away from them," he said.**

**"Wrong?" **

**"That's right. How would you like to be taken away from me and mommy?" Mizuki shook her head and said, "I would be sad."**

**"Exactly. That's how the frog's parents would feel," he said.**

From the lake's edge, Mizuki's index finger dipped into the cool water. She was sitting on the edge, hugging her legs close to her body. The rain poured down on her. Her brown hair turned stringy, water dripped from the tip of her nose. Her light clothes stuck to her body. Overhead, she could hear thunder rumbling.

"Why did you have to be taken from me? Why? I still need you, mommy, daddy!" Mizuki cried, sobbing in her knees. Light footsteps could be heard from behind her. The rain started to pound down on the already weakened girl. She could only hear the giant raindrops disturbing the lake's surface. She didn't realize that someone was behind her until...

"Ahh!" She screamed when a hand touched her shoulder.

"How long have you been here?" He said gently. Mizuki shrugged away from his touch. She slowly stood up until she reached her full height. She looked at him with empty green eyes. She took a step towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

_It's so warm. What is this warm feeling? I don't want this warmth to go away. _

"Are you all right?" His voice faded.

"**Ayane? Are you all right?" He asked with concern. **

"**Huh? What happened? Hiei?" Ayane said, looking up at his face. He was kneeling besides her, holding her body up. **

**"When you were trying to climb down from the tree, you fell," Hiei said, smirking. Ayane saw behind the smirk; it was the smile of relief. **

**"Were you worried about me?" Ayane asked mockingly, smiling slightly. "The Great Hiei Jaganshi was worried about a mere human girl like me? Won't the other demons be shocked?" **

**"You're not a mere human girl," Hiei said seriously, not catching her sarcasm. "You're Ayane Anda, the beautiful and intelligent ex-demon huntress." Ayane didn't say anything but she was blushing as he inched in closer. She was shocked at his sweet words. Usually, he would never say anything like that. His lips brushed against hers. Ayane closed her eyes, hugged his neck and pulled him closer. **

_**I want to live my life with you forever. Even though I am a human and can't live as long as you can. I'll try to avoid death. **_

"I love you...Please don't leave me and I'll never leave you," Mizuki said. Tears flowed down her cheeks. In front of his eyes, for a moment, Mizuki's eyes became the color of amber. Her hair was long to her elbows and it turned black. In the blink of an eye, she was returned to normal.

**"I've heard rumors about you and that demon hunter," Mukuro said. Her back was to him so he couldn't see her expression. **

**"She is no longer a demon hunter. She chose to live life as a regular human being," Hiei responded without a hint of emotion. **

**"Yes...I've heard about that, too. She is certainly not a threat to Makai anymore. However..." Mukuro trailed off.**

**"However?" He questioned.**

**"Because of the history of conflicts between Makai and Ningenkai, there is an unspoken rule about relationships between humans and demons. It is not to say that they cannot be together but there is a certain limitation. I know that you are not the kind of demon to wonder, if you know what I mean..."**

**"Just get on with it," Hiei snapped.**

**"Very well. If you choose to be with this one human girl, you absolutely cannot be with another human girl. If you were to disobey this law, the consequences would be dire. Do you understand me, Hiei?" **

**"You don't need to worry. Ayane is the only human for me. No other humans can compare," Hiei said. An image of Ayane smiling flashed across his mind. **

_**Long black flowing hair, beautiful golden honey eyes, pink lips and a slim body. She's quite different compared to other human girls. She's tough but has a good personality. She doesn't always whine about things. She can fight. She accepts me for who I am. She doesn't annoy me as much. Best of all, she and Yukina gets along.**_

"Mizuki! Mizuki!" Hiiro called her name. He tried to shake her awake. Her body was cold and limp. Her eyes were still closed.

**"I want to live with you forever!" Ayane yelled, tears filling up her eyes. "I know I'm just a regular human and you probably prefer a demon girlfriend but I-I love you so much! I want you to love me back for ever and ever." She paused to catch her breathe. Then she said very softly. "I know that demons live longer than humans but I'll try to avoid death, to spend my life with you. Would you object to that?" **

**He put his hand to her cheek and lifted her face. He smiled and shook his head. "No, I wouldn't. The truth is, I want to and do love you. I was just too afraid to say it until now." **

_**I wanted to live longer to the extent of my life but I couldn't. I broke my unspoken promise to him, I died before I could fully live out my life with him. I died before I could tell him...**_

"Imouto-chan, please wake up! Please! I already lost our parents! I can't lose you, too!" Hiiro yelled, hugging Mizuki tightly.

_**In the darkness, Mizuki was kneeling on the cold floor. She could sense someone was in front of her. "Tell him what?" Mizuki asked her.**_

"Calm down, Aoi-san! You're going to hurt her!" Kurama said, trying to loosen his hold on Mizuki.

"Calm down? My sister's unconscious, cold and her breathing slowed down! How can you tell me to calm down at a time like this?! Huh?" Hiiro snapped at him. He pushed Kurama away. The latter looked concerned but he didn't bother the worried brother.

"Mizuki...Mizuki," Hiiro whispered, shaking her shoulders. He felt her pulse. It was slowing down.

_**"Mizuki, what are you doing here? You should be with people that cares about you," the girl said.**_

_**"The memories of my parents are too strong. I can't stand it! Everywhere I go, they flash through my mind. Shuuichi-kun practically told me that he loves me but I don't feel the same. I feel so guilty because I can't love him back. Why can't I love him back?"**_

**"WAKE UP! MIZUKI!"**

_**"Why does he love me in the first place? He can have anybody else..." Mizuki asked, hugging her legs.**_

**"PLEASE! MIZUKI!" **

_**"Onni-chan?" Mizuki said.**_

Mizuki opened her eyes. Hiiro grabbed her in a bone-crushing hug. Mizuki didn't respond to the hug. Hiiro released her and smiled at his sister. But to his surprise, his sister's green eyes weren't staring back at him. Mizuki turned to the corner where Hiei was standing in. She smiled at him. "Thank you, Hiei, for carrying me back here," she said with a soft voice. He immediately recognized who it was. His eyes widened as he looked back at the smiling girl on the bed. Hiiro backed away from the girl. Long black hair flowed down her back as she stood up from the bed. Her amber eyes were staring intently into Hiei's.

"Mizuki?" Hiiro whispered.

"Ayane-san?" Kurama said. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Ayane," Hiei said breathlessly. He couldn't believe that his dead lover could be standing in front of him.

"Where's Mizuki-chan?" Kurama suddenly said angrily.

Ayane looked over in his direction. "She's...resting."

After she said that, Mizuki's body collapsed but Hiiro had rushed forward before she landed on the floor. In front of their very eyes, she transformed back into the Mizuki they knew. Slowly, her eyes opened to reveal her green pupils. Again, Hiiro delivered another bone-crushing hug. Mizuki just lay limply in his arms, confused and wondering why they were all there. Also, what she was doing there. Without answering any of her questions, her brother just gathered her up and carried her home. She didn't get a chance to say anything to Kurama or Hiei. The voice that was in her head had disappeared for now...Nowadays she would get little headaches and migraines.

Present

"Are you sure you're ok?" Ren asked, worried. He observed that her head kept drooping and her eyes kept closing but she would force them open. "Did you sleep enough yesterday?"

"I'm just fine, Hoshizawa-san," Mizu said smiling. She was unaware of the pained expression behind his thick glasses. He regained his smile and put his hand on top of hers. Again, she wasn't aware but the five girls at their desk saw his action. Mizu yawned. She felt like energy was being drained out of her. Her head lolled back and forth until it finally drooped onto Ren's shoulder.

"Mizuki-chan, I think you should go to the nurse. You don't look so good," Saya, a red-headed girl said with worry. Mizuki, once again, shook her head. "Well, I say that you should! Come on, I'll take you." A girl with short pigtails and Saya stood up and lifted Mizuki up by her arms. Ren was disappointed though he reluctantly let her go.

"Get well soon, Mizu-chan," he whispered.

Five hours had passed since Mizuki was brought to the nurse's office where the nurse had placed her on a bed for the rest of the school day. She had apologized profusely for not being able to contribute any ideas for the festival. The club members, however, wouldn't hear of it. They just wanted her to feel better soon and that she can join them again when she does. Smiling, Mizu rolled over and entered into a dreamless sleep.

After school, Hiiro was called by the nurse to pick his sister up. He parked his car in front of the school. He had just gotten out of his car when he saw a beautiful woman in her early twenties. She walked towards Mizuki's school. Her long black hair was tied back into a low ponytail. She wore a black dress with a short slit. Her eyes were covered by dark glasses. Hiiro stood there, mesmerized by her beauty.

The woman entered the school building. She was unaware of the students that stayed after school. She could sense her presence...She walked till she reached the nurse's office. She knocked, there was no answer. Mizuki was still sleeping peacefully. The nurse just stepped out to the teacher's lounge. Meanwhile, Hiiro was unfamiliar with this school. He had gone to a different high school. Only his grandpa attends Mizuki's parent-teacher conferences.

"Excuse me," he said, tapping a student on the shoulder. "Could you tell me where the nurse's office is?" The girl stared at him. Then she said: "You're Mizuki's brother, right? I'm her friend, Yuki-chan. Just go straight down this hallway then turned to your first left. It's the only door there. You can't miss it." He thanked her and walked away. Unbeknownst to him, Yuki and her friends giggled, commenting on how cute he was.

He walked all the way down the hallway and turned to the left. She was right. You couldn't miss the office. It was the only door there. "Mizu, wake up. I'm here to pick you up," Hiiro said, opening the door.

Mizuki was backed up on the head of the bed, looking scared. The attractive dark-haired woman that he just saw pressed a knife on her neck. She just noticed that someone else was watching them. She turned in his direction. "Hey! What are you doing to my sister!" Hiiro yelled after regaining himself. Mizuki whimpered. He lunged himself at the woman. The latter was quick to react. She did a backflip and landed near the window. "Don't think I'm going to leave you alone. I'll be back before you know it," she said silkily. She escaped through the window.

Hiei, standing on a tall tree branch, that was across Kurama's school. He recognized the woman in the black dress. She didn't have to look to know that the fire demon was watching her. As she ran, she could sense his demon aura. Her beautiful face contorted with anger. "I'm going to get my revenge sooner than you think, demon." She growled.

"Mizu! Are you okay!" Her brother asked with concern. She nodded. Her neck was dripping with her blood. The cut wasn't too deep. Her neck was just lightly grazed with the knife when the woman was surprised. He was relieved. "Who was that?"

"I don't know but she kept asking about 'Kurama' and mentioned demons." She said. He could tell she was scared. "Don't worry, imouto-chan. It's probably just some crazy lady. We're going home now." He coaxed.

"The prophecy. The rules concerning demon and human relationships. The missing spirit of an infamous demon huntress." Lisa said, untying her hair. She undressed in front of a full-length mirror, revealing only a slip. She exited her bedroom, flipping on the light switch on as she entered the living room. She sat on the expensive Italian leather couch, closing her eyes. "Why were you so foolish?" She asked no one in particular. "To fall in love with a demon. Nothing's lower than that. You could've been a great demon huntress, my dear granddaughter. Was a human man not enough for you? Even when you were a little girl, I could never understand you." She paused. "Now you're a helpless spirit stuck in another girl's body. I want to help you but I don't know how. Years and years ago..."

_Years and years ago, the two different species, the humans and the demons fought each other. The humans hated the demons and vice versa. Finally, the leaders of the human world, demon hunters got together with the leaders of the demonic world. They discussed the situation at hand. Many humans were murdered and so were the demons. Finally, they agreed to set some boundaries. The demons were to stay in the demon world and if a demon wanders into the human world, an appointed demon hunter would dispose of him/ her. Both sides agreed. _

_Things were as peaceful as they could be. Then one day, a demon was found in Ningenkai. A demon hunter was to kill him but he was too strong. Finally, the demon hunter clans got together and trapped this demon. They questioned him. What was he doing in Ningenkai? The demon was forced to answer. He told them that he fell in love with a human girl. They were repulsed by his answer. How can a demon love? The human girl turned out to be the daughter of the demon hunter leader. Her father was enraged. He contacted the demon leaders, informing them of this situation. _

_The demon leaders rectified the situation. They forbade the demon from seeing his love. The demon hunter did the same of his daughter. The two rebelled and ran away together. The irresponsible lovers left behind a trail of turmoil and blood. From then on, the representative of the human world, saddened by his daughter's disappearance, declared war on the demon world. The war lasted for about two years. Both humans and demons were brutally murdered. _

_The new representative of Ningenkai, a demon huntress came forward and stopped the war. She discussed a new rule with the demon leaders, a demon can fall in love with a human. Her followers were furious at this declaration. She added a twist to the rule; the demon can only be with one human. If the said demon cannot abide by the rule, he/she would be slain by either the human or the demon side. The rule also applied to humans. The rule still upholds to this day. When Ayane had heard the end of the story, she crossed her arms and made a face. "How idiotic. How can that girl fall in love with that demon? That demon huntress must be insane; she would allow a human to be with a demon? That's disgusting!" Lisa had finished the story. She smirked. She had thought the same thing. _

"_It's a true story. No one knew what happened to the lovers though. Some say either humans or demons killed them. They were angry at the two lovers for being happy while the rest of the two worlds were suffering." _

Lisa opened her eyes. "What an irony. The prophecy is still bound to happen. It would be rather impossible though." It wasn't really a prophecy though. It was more like a premonition someone had. He said that the fire demon, Hiei would love two human girls. Lisa couldn't see how that was possible. Ayane was already dead. She knew how much he had loved her. As much as she hated to admit it.

"Oh, Ayane, you are just like the girl in the legend." After Ayane's death, Lisa found out from someone what actually happened to the human girl. She was killed...by her lover. The same lover that she ran away with and caused a war. "Just as foolish as she was." She looked at a framed picture of her deceased granddaughter. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"The resurrection of the young demon huntress. The forbidden love between two humans and two demons. A decision that affects the fates of two young ladies. The anger of a vengeful loved one. The unsuspecting human girl. My, the near future will be delightfully eventful," a raspy voice said. His literally bony hands surrounded the crystal that displayed the events that are about to come. He was covered in a dirty gray cloak. His face cannot be seen.

A/N: Sorry, this chapter didn't have much romance or Hiei in it. He's fun to write about but I find it hard to keep him in character. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. Please review. Btw, I know that Ayane seems to be slutty or annoying. I can't help it. I want her in this story.


	13. This Is How It Hurts

**One Stormy Night** by Shoujo's Revenge

Disclaimer: Yoshihiro Togashi owns Yu Yu Hakusho.

A/N: Not sure if people will come back to read this story which I have decided to continue. I thank **Lathya**, **Crimsondrop7**, **Miranda Malice** and **cabbage. head** for reviewing since the last update.

Chapter 13: This is How Much It Hurts

Mizuki brushed her bangs off her sweaty forehead, breathing heavily. She turned to her right where the telephone sat on top of her nightstand. For one wild minute, she snatched the receiver and dialed Shuichi Minamino's number. The blinking green numbers of the digital clock informed her that it was two in the morning. She slammed it down before it even rang, feeling embarrassed.

_This is stupid. Shuichi-kun is obviously sleeping right now. _Not to mention the fact, she was avoiding him for the moment.

Her bare feet landed on the plush carpet, the blanket draping over her shoulders. She went over to the window that a man had crashed into six weeks ago. Her finger traced the edge of the window; the glass had been replaced since then. Strange things had been happening since his appearance in her life. She found herself in strange places, not remembering what happened that brought her in that place. She found herself being targeted by a beautiful woman. She found herself having nightmares of people or things wanting to kill her. What did it all mean? Who was the strange man that Shuichi Minamino seemed to know? Why did she keep getting migraines lately?

Her family worried for her safety since all these strange things were happening. They even suspended her from school which kept her in the house for at least a week. There were times when she heard people at the front door try to visit her but her grandpa or her brother turned them away. She saw them from the top window, sometimes she waved at them if she caught their eyes. If it were Shuichi, she crouched down under the window.

She pressed her forehead against the cool glass, whispering to her reflection: "Please let me go back outside." Her eyes singled out the full moon, her hand pressed against the glass like she wished to obtain the silver orb. She pushed the window open, feeling the night breeze rush over her face, her hair flying back.

_It's a beautiful night. Here's a great chance for me to escape. _Her heart beat faster. _Escape. _The desire to be outside was strong, overtaking her senses. Even for one second, she wanted to experience the feeling of being outside, of being free while her family was still asleep. She quickly grabbed a jacket and slid into a pair of jeans. She silently padded to the door and listened in anticipation, her heart pounding in her ears.

Her brother's room was down the hallway by the staircase and her grandpa's room was on the lower level.

"Onni-chan," she whispered. No answer.

She pulled the hood of her dark jacket up, hoping that it would blend with the dark hallway. Her feet crossed the threshold when she decided to grab pepperspray just in case. There was a box of it in her closet courtesy of her overprotective family members. She test sprayed it once to make sure it worked then when satisfied, made her way out of her room. Once out in the hallway, the darkness calmed her down though it oddly made her feel like she was a burglar about to steal the family's jewelry. She shook her head to rid of the strange thought. She had to make sure she was extra quiet when she came close to the staircase.

_Quiet, Mizuki, quiet. _She gently allowed one foot on the staircase, it creaked ominously as soon as she settled her weight on it. She froze to listen to any indication of life, holding her breathe. It was all quiet except for the ticking of a clock. She braced herself and willed herself to go down further than that. She did just that occasionally stopping to check for any movement from either of her family members.

_Made it. _She grinned, holding the banister of the bottom staircase. Her grandpa's room was further back in the house so she easily slipped out the front door. Although, it did produce an irritating whine when it opened. The smallest of sounds seemed to amplify at night.

She peered at the moon from the porch, forming a circle with her thumb and index finger and fitted it perfectly to the moon. The sound of gently rustling leaves in the distance was like a whispering to her ears as if telling her that this was the magical outside world. She missed the outside world. The world where birds flew whenever wherever they pleased. She knew it wasn't a perfect world. The outside world was the place where her parents were taken from her.

Mizuki tore her attention away from the moon, making her way down the empty street.

Hiei was hidden among the trees that lined her property.

_This girl carries Ayane's spirit. _He thought. He could definitely another presence within her.

Mizuki hugged her jacket closer to herself. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to take a nightly stroll after all. Against the full moon, a dark figure was crouched on the roof of a house across from Aoi residence. The figure and Hiei watched Mizuki stop in front of her neighbor's house, tilting her head up and reached out to the heavens. What they didn't know was that she was remembering back when she was a child perched on the shoulders of her father, her older brother holding his mother's hand. They were visiting her grandpa in the very same house she lived in now, the one she viewed as a prison. Her beloved grandpa and her sibling were now her wardens.

_Moon-san, will you take me to my mommy and daddy one day? _She reverted back to the thoughts she had as a six-year-old child. At that time she longed for piggyback rides her father used to give her but he was gone by then. Her grandpa was too old to be giving piggyback rides nor did her depressed brother pay attention to her. She had learned to confide in the silver disc in the dark sky, the strongest source of light at the darkest time in her life. The stars had blinked in unison, listening to her small voice laden with sadness tell the moon of her day.

Her fists clenched at her sides and the tips of her hair grew out slowly. She had this overwhelming feeling that there were two unseen presences spying on her. She closed her eyes tightly, unclenching her fists and let out a deep breathe. There was someone attempting to control her body. Her watchers felt a slight surge in reiki from Mizuki's body for a few fleeting seconds. A drop of sweat made its way down from her temple to her cheek. She swiveled around to catch a glimpse of anyone, anything.

_This is stupid! _She groaned in frustration, making her way back to her home. She didn't come out here to be spied on.

Mizuki was in a slightly bad mood the next morning, choosing to watch television when she first woke up.

"Hey, are you sure you're okay, imouto-chan?" Hiiro asked, pouring himself a glass of orange juice. "If you're feeling tired at all, go up to bed immediately, okay?"

Mizuki smiled from the couch, nodding. She turned back to switch the channel to something else, not feeling up to watching the slapstick comedy of a harem anime. She had been allowed to skip school by her grandpa for a whole week. He was worried about her since the strange happenings lately. She was sick of being stuck at home.

She wanted to be outside even if it meant enduring the continuous headaches. She looked at the direction of the front door and looked back to see if her brother was paying attention to her. He had his back to her, his head poking around in the refrigerator. Taking the blanket off her body, she tiptoed to the front door, hoping he would be distracted for a while. She silently locked the door behind her then broke into a run.

"Psst." Kurama took his eyes off the kids having fun in the playground and looked behind him to see a person dressed in an oversized hoody and jeans, fingers curled onto the iron fence. The person took off the hood to reveal herself to be Mizuki. She waved meekly to him, smiling. He got up but she just signaled for him to stay there while she walked over to him.

"Mizuki-chan, why are you dressed like that?" He asked as she took a seat at the opposite end of the bench.

"I was sick of being stuck in the house for a week so I just snuck out when my grandpa and brother were busy. Knowing them; they'll probably form search parties." Mizuki sighed. "Trying to catch my breathe whenever I can..." She placed her hands on her lap, watching the children on the swings.

"They won't even allow you to attend school?" She smiled bitterly, shaking her head.

"Have I ever told you they were overprotective of me? My brother was all for letting me out more until all these strange things started to happen. Now he wants me trapped in the house like grandpa. You're really lucky your parents are still alive..." Her voice trailed off. She didn't seem to notice what she said.

"Actually, my father died when I was still a child," Kurama whispered. Mizuki turned to him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Shuuichi-kun." He smiled at her.

"It's fine. I was very young so I didn't know him very well."

"I see." Silence. The two of them were deep in thought then Mizuki shuffled her feet. "Um, if you don't mind, could you please tell me what homework I've been missing?" Kurama chuckled.

"You're a strange one, you know that?" He found himself facing a miffed teenage girl. She didn't get what was so funny about wanting to know the homework for last week. When one was missing from school for a week, the thing one dreaded when one came back was the homework he or she would make up. "Most people tend to avoid the subject of homework especially when they missed a week's worth of it." She had on an expression like she didn't understand a thing he was saying.

"But I don't want to fall behind when I go back..." Which prompted more chuckles from him. Some of the children peered their way to see what was so funny. Mizuki wondered if he got into some sugar earlier.

_Why does he keep laughing at me? He's seriously starting to get me mad. _

"Are you just going to laugh at me all day?" She asked defensively, balling up her hands.

"Sorry, sorry, Mizuki-chan. I've been feeling horrible all day and then you come along and cheer me up." He said, wiping away a tear caused by her simple comments.

_I didn't do it intentionally you know. _She stared at her shoes. "How come you're feeling horrible? Oh, I get it. Your fangirls have been bothering you again. I try to avoid them too." She laughed.

"Are they still bothering you even after I set them straight?" She cracked a small smile.

"Jealousy does crazy things to people. As long as I avoid them, I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me, Shuuichi-kun." Her bangs got in her eyes as her gaze swiveled to the playground. "I want to use the swing next..." She was unaware that he could hear her.

"They're getting ready to leave soon." He answered. A mother was telling her two children to retrieve their toys from the sandbox. In her excitement, Mizuki faced him and said: "Hey, wanna see who can swing the highest? I bet I win."

"Isn't that rather childish?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow. She hung her head, her oversized sleeves hiding her hands.

"I guess you're right. Hey! Shuui- Cheater!" She chased after the redhead who ran on ahead of her and claimed the same swing that Mizuki had her eye on. The children pointed to the pair and laughed at Mizuki trying to reclaim it. Even the stern mother stopped to smile. "If I win the contest, you have to tell me what homework I'm missing."

Kurama smirked. "That's hardly a good wager. I was going to tell you regardless. You need to get out more. Homework isn't everything. How about if you win: I'll do whatever you want and vice versa." She agreed to the wager.

"This is _my _swing, Shuuichi-kun!"

"No, this is _my _swing, Mizuki-chan. You were too slow to call it" he said calmly, amused. In all honesty, he didn't care which swing he used but it was a great opportunity to see her make that cute frustrated face.

"Liar, you tricked me!"

He let go of the swing, feigning defeat. Mizuki got on the swing as he untangled the chain of the swing next to hers. People had a bad habit of tangling at least one swing in public playgrounds. Mizuki privately hated those types of people. "Ready?" She pushed her body forward, the tips of her sneakers lightly touching the ground. Kurama nodded his affirmation to her question. "Go!" The two teenagers felt silly doing something as childish as this but the wind rushing past their body, hair and face felt so good that they forgot about everything. The rush of adrenaline was welcoming. She allowed herself a squeal of delight as she went higher and higher, reaching her hand out.

_What are they doing? _Hiei thought, watching his friend and the girl swinging back and forth like a pendulum, from a tree overlooking the playground. _Kurama looks stupid. _His crimson locks were swinging in motion to his body. How was he supposed to tell him that Koenma wanted to see him?

Mizuki wasn't very happy that her classmate was beating her. With each swing, he was soaring higher than her. She hoped he didn't ask her to do anything too embarrassing. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and admitted defeat. She dug the back of her feet into the ground, taking a breather. Kurama did the same, looking over to her.

"Are you okay, Mizuki-chan?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling widely. "It's been a long time since I did anything that energetic. It was...awesome! I miss being a kid when everything was much more carefree, you know?" She got off the swing tripping a little in the process. Giggling nervously, she told him that he didn't see that.

"Yes, I did," he quipped, smiling behind his hand. And so did Hiei. "Well, I won the contest, Mizuki-chan." He gracefully got off the swing. She gulped.

"Ye-yeah. " She played with her fingers, looking coyly up at him. He wouldn't ask her for a kiss or anything like that, would he?

"Kurama," said a smooth voice, a manicured hand gripping his wrist. Amber eyes looked pitifully at him. It was the piercing eyes of the young woman that invaded the heart of his friend. "You have to forget about Mizuki Aoi." He snatched his arm back from her.

"Why are you possessing her body?" The black-haired teenage girl bowed her head, her eyelashes creating a shadow on her cheeks.

"I am not sure of the answer myself but I have to warn you about Mizuki Aoi. This girl will die if you don't leave her alone. My grandmother is still alive and if you engage in a relationship with Mizuki-san, she'll definitely track her down and kill her in order to uphold the unspoken decree of human/demon relationships. You know how persistent Lisa Anda is." Ayane said, looking him straight in the eyes.

The breath was knocked out of him. There were many questions swimming in his head like how did Ayane's spirit come to possess Mizuki's body? Why wasn't anybody able to track down her spirit when she died? Why was one of the most prolific demon huntresses still alive after the last war in Makai? Why was there yet another barrier holding him from being from Mizuki? Wasn't her refusal to love him enough to complicate things?

"Lisa wouldn't kill another human. Demon hunters are forbidden to kill their own. The decree states that human/demon relationships are possible as long as the demon sticks with the one human. As long as I stay with only her, there should be no problem." He reasoned. She sighed, closing her eyes, her fingers kneading the space between her eyes. These migraines of Mizuki's were powerful.

"I know it's hard, Kurama. Trust me, I know but if you truly love her, stay away from her. I'm not the only one who thinks so either." She closed her eyes. _I can't tell him the other reason Mizuki could die. If he realizes the real reason why he's drawn to her..._She sensed Hiei's yoki coming closer. _I have to leave. _

"Wait, Ayane-san! Hiei." Kurama was aware of the presence of the fire demon standing to his left. Ayane transformed back into Mizuki. She slowly opened her eyelids to reveal shocked green eyes.

"How did you get here? I don't remember you being here a second ago." Mizuki said, blinking at the man standing in front of her. "When did he get here, Shuuichi-kun?" Usually Kurama would've acted nervously in this situation and try to cover it up with some lie. However, the way that Hiei stood still, the way that he didn't say anything, the way that he stared at Mizuki was unnerving. She decided to break the silence. "Your name is Hiei-san? Nice to meet you again. Are you feeling better now? From when you know you crashed...through my window..." Kurama swung his head back and forth at the nervous Mizuki and the stoic Hiei.

Hiei remained quiet. He definitely sensed Ayane's spirit here two seconds ago. His silence unnerved Mizuki while Kurama was used to it. Hiei stared at her then with his hands in his pockets turned to Kurama.

"The Prince wants to speak to you on a private matter," he informed him, walking away.

_Prince? _Mizuki thought.

Kurama put his hand on her shoulder making her look up at him.

"You should go home immediately. We can settle the bet when you come back to school."

"Shuuichi-kun, don't forget about the homework assignments. I don't want to be fall behind. Stop laughing at me!" Mizuki flushed with anger. She didn't like being laughed at when she finally got a chance to go outside in the daytime.

"Sorry, sorry, Mizuki-chan. I'll be sure to call you later."

"Thank you." She said sincerely. Would she be able to go back to school again? The missed homework assignments would take her mind off the possibility of being locked in the house forever.

"You're welcome," he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze before joining Hiei.

_I don't want to go home. _She sat down on the swing she previously occupied, pushing herself gently forward. She finally found out the name of the man she had been taking care; his name was Hiei. Her lips curved up to a smile. _Hiei-san. _

Mizuki was in for a surprise when she came home and found her cousin seated at the kitchen table instead of her hysterical family. Naoko waved cheerfully to her and opened her arms wide. Mizuki ran to those inviting arms, hearing an 'oof' from her.

"You really missed me, huh? That was some hug," she chuckled. Her younger cousin responded by hugging her tighter, sniffling.

"Wh-what are you doing here? Where are onni-chan and grandpa?" Mizuki asked, pulling back a little. It was a relief to have a benevolent female presence in her life again.

"Well, after your little magic trick today, they thought maybe you needed someone besides them to spend them with. I won't lie." She chuckled again. "They sort of asked me to be your babysitter." Mizuki made a face. "It won't be so bad. I promise I won't be bossy. I was thinking of you a lot lately. The last time I saw you was-" She stopped, pursing her lips. The last time she had seen her cousin was at her aunt and uncle's funeral when Mizuki had zoned out for most of the somber service.

"They're not trying to find me, are they?" Mizuki asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, Hiiro and your grandpa are...looking for you." Naoko smiled an understanding smile. "Don't look so down. They only worry for you because they love you so much. Oh," She released Mizuki and gave her a gift bag.

She stared at it as if it was a bomb. Naoko laughed, telling her to open it. Mizuki wanted to say that her reassuring appearance was enough of a gift, that a physical gift was unnecessary but the enthusiastic look on Naoko's face was a comfort; she didn't want to upset her. She reached into the pink and white tissue paper.

"Perfume?" She turned the lavender diamond shaped bottle in the light.

"I saw it in the window of a department store and knew I had to get it for you. Mom misses you, too. Remember how you used to cling to her, smelling the lavender off her neck after she come back from the garden? They always used to joke how you liked my mom more than your own mo-" She caught herself again. "I'm sorry." Mizuki rubbed her burning eyes.

"It still hurts not having them here. I don't think I can ever get over their deaths. It happened eleven years ago yet I just can't...I can't." She squeaked, her hand over her mouth.

"Come here, Mizu," Naoko whispered, pulling her into a hug. She rubbed her back soothingly. "I miss them, too. We all miss them. You're not the only one."

* * *

Koenma pushed his chair back as the contents of his desk, mostly papers and the official stamp, was swept off his desk by, to the surprise of everyone in the office, Kurama. A flash of golden in his normally green eyes escaped everyone's notice. Botan's gaping mouth was hidden behind the sleeve of her kimono. Papers landed next to Yusuke's and Kuwabara's feet. They stared incredulously at him; this was the first time they ever saw him lose control of his temper against the Reikai Prince. That job was usually reserved for the Yusuke or Hiei. Yusuke and Kuwabara had only just arrived with no idea what happened between them. Hiei stood off to the side, his hands in his pockets.

"I apologize, Koenma but with all due respect, I don't think you should be able to dictate with whom I wish to associate with," he said calmly with a hint of irritation.

"Be reasonable, Kurama. Her life would get complicated if you were to get involved with her further. Look, I don't want to dictate on who you should or shouldn't date. I wish I could explain everything that's about to happen or will happen if you don't follow my advice. You will have to trust me," Koenma said.

_**"Trust me, I know but if you truly love her, stay away from her. I'm not the only one who thinks so either."**_He remembered Ayane's warning too well.

There was something about Mizuki being kept secret from him.

"What are you keeping from me?"

* * *

It was a perfect day to be outside despite the consistent storms. Another whole week had passed since her grandpa forbade her to step out of the house ever again without being accompanied by either him, her cousin or her brother. His declaration was followed by a clapping of thunder. She had wondered if it was a message from the heavens above to warn her to listen to her grandpa. It was only a vague thought. She never really trusted any gods or goddesses or deities or whatever anymore. She cursed whoever or whatever it was that took her parents away a long time ago. Whether or not her grandpa allowed her to do anything wasn't the issue anymore. Lately she hadn't been feeling her benign self. Anger came in waves whenever she encountered her brother or grandpa so she came out here to escape.

She tilted her head up to watch the raindrops come down like clear needles to disturb the surface of the lake where her dad used to point out all the wildlife to her and her brother. She remembered her mother was usually busy at the hospital.

"These little fishy looking things are tadpoles. See? They are what baby frogs are called. One day they will grow up to be a full grown frog like that one," Mizuki recited the words engraved in her memory, pointing out imaginary tadpoles in the water. "See those birds high up in the sky?"

"What birds are you talking about?" A voice said. Mizuki abruptly turned around and gasped at the cold steel pressed to her neck.

"Hasekawa-san...What are you doing?" Fumi pulled her head back by her hair.

"She is right. You should die..."

The first thing he saw was a flash of white in the darkness where the shrill scream came from. Mizuki rolled clumsily to the side, bumping painfully into a tree narrowly avoiding the knife Fumi hurtled down. She quickly pushed herself off the ground, dirt clinging to her clothes. Her heart pounding against her ribcage, she tried to take a breath but it hurt to move. Fumi stumbled to the slippery ground, causing her to embed the tip of her weapon into the tree trunk. Mizuki used this chance to push her to the ground while she slipped on a wet rock. The crashing of thunder rang in her ears. The two struggled to gain control of the situation. Mizuki was trying to subdue the hysterical girl while Fumi struck out with her fists, shrieking. She managed to punch Mizuki in the nose and pulled herself to her knees. Mizuki clutched her bloody nose, another hand pulling Fumi down by her skirt. If the deranged girl got the knife back Mizuki will surely be in trouble. She lost her grip on Fumi's skirt. She back kicked Mizuki in the face.

"I won't let you have him! I won't lose him to you! You don't love him the way I do!" Fumi screamed, her cries mingling with the freezing cold raindrops. Her would be victim was half-lying on the tree and on the ground, her vision swimming in and out.

"You're wrong, Hasekawa-san. I don't love him at all. I never had feelings for him." Mizuki breathed out. She titled her head up to the dark skies, the needles of rain washing the blood from her face. She was suddenly conscious of how alarmingly cold her entire body was. She could hear footsteps making their way to her. A sharp pain shot through her scalp as she saw Fumi's face glare down at her, the length of the knife pressed against her face.

"You won't get in my way anymore."

"You're doing this for him when he doesn't care for you," Mizuki's lips moved but the words coming out weren't her own words.

Hiei gasped, his heart jumping in his throat. Ayane's comments were always brutally honest.

"You're just one of his many fangirls, a nuisance." Mizuki's hand moved on its own accord, reaching out to grab Fumi's neck. Her free hand caught the knife that the gagging girl dropped by the blade. In a swift motion, she had it by the handle.

"No human being has the right to determine the end of another's life. You seem to think you are above human. It's clear that you cannot be saved if you think that way."

The affair ended in a matter of seconds. Mizuki regained control of her body, her hand opening. Gasping, she watched Fumi's body fall in slow motion, a dagger stuck out of her back. Her eyes registered the knife resting harmlessly in the sleek grass. Hiei had seen the dagger streaking across the dark night behind the Hasekawa girl.

_So it's true. She really is still alive. _He couldn't sense the culprit's presence anymore. She managed to escape.

"No," Mizuki repeated, rushing to Fumi's side. Her trembling fingers reached out to the gasping girl.

"I lost...I always lose...at everything. I love you, Shu-" Fumi wheezed, reaching out to her back. Mizuki grabbed her hands.

"Don't! You shouldn't move it or you'll bleed even more. I'll get you to a hospital." Fumi pushed her away with the last of her remaining strength.

"Get away from me, you bitch!"

"Stop being such an asshole! I need to get you to a hospital! Your family will be devastated if you don't...come home." She didn't want to say 'if you don't live.' She was all too clear of knowing the feeling of when a loved one would never come home alive.

Fumi dug her nails in the dirt, closing her eyes. "Shut up. You think you're better than me because-" Her breath shuddered. "Your family would care whether or not you came back."

"No, I don't" Mizuki answered firmly, pulling Fumi's arm over her shouler. "Up we go." She hoisted the injured girl to her feet, her own arm around Fumi's shoulder to better support her weight.

"You're incredibly stupid, you know that? First you don't love Shuichi and now you're helping me when I just tried to kill you."

"You can thank me later." She was vaguely amused.

If Fumi could still insult her with a dagger sticking out of her body, she will definitely be able to survive. That was the hope that Mizuki clung to anyway. Her enemy started to laugh, her sobs mixing in with the loud moans of the strong wind. She guessed whatever problems they had, the best thing these two little girls could do was cry but Mizuki swallowed her own oncoming sobs. The situation would've gotten worse if she didn't.

_It'll be okay. The hospital's only a few miles away. I can hail a cab and we'll make it in time. Hasekawa-san will be all right. I'll make sure to get her parents to enroll her in therapy after tonight._

"Aah!" She slipped on another rock. Fumi landed beside her, groaning. _How can I be so clumsy at a time like this? _A pair of black shoes appeared in her line of vision. _Whose...? _The pair of feet walked towards her. Fumi's voice floated to her ears.

"Who are you?"

"Hn. Can you walk, Aoi?" A deep emotionless voice asked her amidst the loud pitter pittar of rain and the thunderous roaring from the skies.

"Yeah," she managed to choke out. She had a hunch that this man could be trusted.

"Good. Get up. I'll carry this girl. You will never make it in time in your condition."

"You can leave me here. Just make sure she lives. I don't want anymore people to die."

A part of her wouldn't mind laying on her stomach close to the place her family used to gather on the weekends. It seemed to be a proper place to nap or to die but she knew her bloody nose wouldn't kill her. Hiei gritted his teeth. He detached Fumi from the defeated girl, taking care not to place the injured one on her back. Mizuki felt herself being lifted by the front of her hooded sweatshirt and an angry crimson glare awakened her up from her dreamlike state.

"Are you a natural born idiot or are you an idiot by choice?" Hiei set her down to her feet. She wobbled, resting an elbow on the nearest tree. "Wipe your nose and follow me."

"Who are you? You keep appearing in my life ever since that day." She obeyed his abrupt instruction, using her sleeve to wipe the flowing blood from under her nose and from her cracked lips.

Hiei ignored her question. With a meaningful look at her, he bent to Fumi's thoroughly soaked body. Mizuki rushed behind him and helped him place Fumi gently on his back.

"Watch out for any rocks. I don't want to have to carry you, too," he told her. Mizuki flushed angrily, casting a quick look on Fumi then lowered her eyes.

The two of them made their way out of the park. Fumi didn't say anything but after checking her pulse, Mizuki calmed down.

"How do you know Shuichi-san? I saw you at his house that one time. Are you friends with him?" Mizuki asked timidly.

"Hn."

"Do you know that I hated you ever since I saw you? I didn't even know why until Shuichi-kun started to talk to you." Fumi whispered to her, opening one of her eyes.

"I never hated you until you jumped me with those fangirl bitches and when you accused me of beating you up to my family." Mizuki retorted.

"Did it hurt? Did your family look at you with disgust?" She asked through gritted teeth. "What does he see in you? Why won't he love me?"

"Have you ever tried talking to him normally like not just as the president of his fanclub? He's a normal person like everyone else. He doesn't want to be interviewed about his favorite color for the club's magazine. I don't know. Maybe I'm just being naive. Honestly, I have never fallen in love. I'm not exactly sure what the process is like."

Fumi laughed harshly. "Love is not a science. It just happens. It's a wonderful and a painful feeling at the same time." It was quiet.

"Hasekawa-san? Hasekawa-san!"

"Relax. She's still alive. I can still feel her heart beating." He didn't deem it necessary to tell her it was slowing down.

"Thank you, Hiei-san. If you weren't in the park, I probably would've never- Hasekawa-san would've-Why would someone do this!" She couldn't contain herself anymore. She didn't understand why any of this had to happen.

"You know very well why _she_ would do this, Ayane," Hiei said, waiting. Mizuki stared back at him.

"Is that your girlfriend's name? Do I remind you of her?" That was the same name he muttered before he kissed her for the first time. She absentmindedly touched her lips. "And who's this _she_? What were you doing in the park anyway?"

_"For some reason, Ayane chooses to hide within Mizuki Aoi's body. She wouldn't tell me the reason why but there's been evidence of Lisa Anda's return." Koenma finished. Hiei sensed there was something else important he wasn't being told. Koenma had a look of something akin to pity. "I urge you to keep a strong watch on Mizuki Aoi. You are dismissed." _

"Hn. What I was doing is none of your business."

"Hmph. I just thought it was strange you were there to help me. You don't seem like a dangerous person either."

He almost tripped. Nobody had ever said that to him before. Any normal person would've flinched at the sword he kept by his side. Maybe she was actually stupid like Fumi Hasekawa said. They trotted on in silence. Fumi's breathing was beginning to slow significantly along with her heart rate.

"Oi, do you think you can get home safely?" He turned to Mizuki, who nodded. He couldn't afford for her to see him move in a fast rate. Although if he didn't used his natural speed to get Fumi to the hospital, the girl would surely die.

_Don't trust this girl. She's going to run away again. _Hiei heard Ayane's voice in his mind.

_Ayane, I know you're inside this girl. Why did you speak to Koenma but not me? I searched for you everywhere I could._

_I'm sorry, Hiei. I was bound to this girl's body once _it_ happened. Get the Hasekawa girl to the hospital now. I will lead Mizuki to Reikai. Whatever you do, do not allow Kurama to hear of tonight's incident. _The telepathy end as quickly as it came.

Mizuki was running away in the opposite direction.

Mizuki was seriously starting to go crazy by the time she woke up to find herself standing on her feet. She swiveled her head from side to side, taking in the new surroundings. She appeared to be outside of an apartment. She stared at her raised fist.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming." A sleepy Kuwabara opened the door, rubbing his eyes. They opened wider when they took in Mizuki's blood stained clothes.

"Kazuma, who's that?" Shizuru's voice called from the living room.

"Kuwabara, would it be okay if this girl stayed here for a couple of days?" Koenma appeared out of nowhere in his teenage form. Kuwabara fell back in surprise. Shizuru stuck her head out to see what the noise was about.

"Who is she?" She questioned, indicating the frightened girl on the doorstep.

"She's Mizuki Aoi. Someone is after her. You would be doing her a big favor if you allow her to stay here," Koenma explained.

"I suppose she could crash on the couch."

"Well now that it's settled." He pulled Mizuki into the apartment by her arm. "Mizuki, your stuff has already been brought here. I had my assistant pack your belongings for your stay here." He assured her.

"Say you look familiar," Kuwabara said, his face screwed up in thought, peering closely at her. She backed away from him.

They steered her to Shizuru's bedroom where an overnight bag was sitting by the foot of the bed. Koenma left her with instructions of getting herself cleaned up.

"I know you." Mizuki whispered before he closed the door.

The Kuwabara siblings demanded an explanation for the stranger's appearance. He started from the beginning: the day when Ayane Anda was declared missing up to tonight's events.

"Fumi Hasekawa, the girl who tried to kill Mizuki Aoi will die by the stroke of midnight."

"What's all that got to do with her staying here?" Shizuru asked, stirring a steaming cup of tea.

"She has to stay somewhere where her enemy wouldn't suspect which is why she'll stay here for a couple of days then she'll switch at Yusuke's."

"Then she'll stay at Kurama's?" Koenma shook his head.

"If possible, she'll stay at Keiko's house if her parents permit."

"Why doesn't she stay at Genkai's? There are plenty of room there. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"That's not a good idea."

"I still don't get why she can't stay at Kurama's house. Ah, wait, I thought the girl looked familiar. Kurama has a drawing of her on his bedroom wall. I remember thinking it looked so lifelike." Kuwabara said.

"Speaking of him, it's imperative you don't tell Kurama about her staying at your house. If you ever come in any kind of contact with her, mask her scent with perfume or some other smell. If Kurama ever comes over, make sure to kick her out before he arrives and spray every room she's ever been in with perfume. If you ever come in any kind of contact with her, mask her scent with perfume or air freshener."

"Why are you determined to keep her away from Kurama? She didn't step on his rose garden, did she?" Shizuru asked.

_Try his Youko pride. _Koenma kept this thought to himself.

They turned simultaneously to her light footsteps. She appeared in the doorway, her wet clothes clinging to her body.

"You appeared on the day of my parents' funeral." She addressed Koenma.

Koenma got up from the kitchen table, nodding. In a fit of rage, Mizuki rushed to him, grasping the front of his shirt.

"You can't allow Hasekawa-san to die! Why are you taking people away from me? Why? I asked this question so many times yet no one ever gives me a satisfactory answer."

"Fumi Hasekawa brought it on herself," Koenma whispered solemnly. "You're not responsible for her death, Mizuki. You don't have to take on the guilt." Mizuki loosened her hold on his shirt, shaking her head.

"I was supposed to die tonight, not her. Whoever killed her wanted to kill me. I'm not supposed to be alive."

"It was Fumi's time to die just like it was your parents' time to die on that night. You will do well to remember that."

"Are you punishing me for something I did? Take it out on me, don't take it out on them." Her eyes misted over with tears. Shizuru interrupted the tense moment, swinging an arm around the girl to calm her down.

"Mizuki, is it? My name is Shizuru Kuwabara and this is my little brother, Kazuma. From what I heard from Koenma, you had a tough night so why don't you go take a shower and call it a day?" She led the defeated girl to the bathroom.

"Nee-san will calm her down." Kuwabara said, turning to Koenma who nodded approvingly.

"For now, she'll be under your care. Hiei will be stopping by a couple of times while she's here." This got Kuwabara's attention.

"Wh-what! Why will that shrimp be coming over!"

"So they can get better acquainted," Koenma said mysteriously, a glint in his eye before disappearing.

Mizuki pulled her legs to her body, her chin propped on her knees, her dull eyes bleary with unshed tears. The bathwater lost its heat ten minutes ago when the teenage girl, a year older than her, urged her to cleanse herself. Now she was wondering about the brown-haired teenage boy. He was back in her life again. Fumi Hasekawa was going to die. The same girl who tormented her since the first day of school was going to die. Mizuki rather take her place. _She _was the one who was supposed to die tonight, not Fumi Hasekawa. Whoever truly killed Fumi was a monster. How could the culprit use Fumi as a scapegoat?

_**"She is right. You should die." **_

_She meaning it was the same person who tried to attack me at school! It has to be! _She raised her head to the ceiling. _But why? Why is she trying to kill me? _The images of her recurrent nightmares returned to her. It dawned on her there was more than one person seeking to take her life. The shock of the revelation was numbing. Little pieces of this puzzle fitted one by one yet there were plenty of pieces missing. The outline of her body undulated in the water as she crawled to the edge of the tub and reached out to the towel hanging nearby.

Something terrible was going to happen. She could feel it.


End file.
